Logbook entry

Lost In Space: Ecstasy (Epilogue)

14 Dec 2023Silvia Sharpe
Location: Rajito

Arriving in the system near the G class Yellow-White star Venus relaxes a bit finally being only a single jump from home. A message pops up on the private message panel.

Man, it must be my lucky day. You've got a bounty on your heads! A pretty sizeable one at that.

'Damn it! Just when I thought it was safe to relax. June who is the bounty issued from? Maybe I can get it cleared up once I pay this guy off.' Venus states after reading the message.

"Give me a moment to reference the criminal list...." June replies.

"Hmmm. That's surprising... It shouldn't be but it is. You two might be in a bit of hot water with the pilots federation."

Give up now, and I promise to cause you no harm! Another message pops up on the messaging panel as June finishes speaking.

'Silv, I'm sorry to disturb you but, I'm going to need you in the cockpit. We uh.. have a situation.'

The message over the intercoms is the last thing I was hoping to hear this close to home. I was ready to be off this ship and ready to lay in my own bed again. This whole hiding away from society thing is annoying and I just want my life to return to some form of normal. That is if there even is such a thing as normal in this day and age. I make my way to the cockpit and take a seat in the co-pilot's seat.

'Yes? What seems to be the issue?' I ask Venus.

"Interdiction. Zero throttle to submit."

The warning displays on the Cockpit display answering my question. I let out a sigh of resentment as I open the message console and read the messages the look at the information panel and see the bounty amount.

'280 million Cr? That's all the money they can scrounge up to pay? That's almost insulting.' I remark.

'Yep. Now can you message them and tell them we will pay them to leave?'

'The usual then I suppose? Double the bounty payout?'

'Sure that sounds....'

"Warning! Incoming projectile."

"FSD offline. Rebooting."

The ship goes eerily silent as the FSD shutsdown due to a disruption missile. Due to the drives already fragile state the missile instead of simply causing a short boot sequence manages to completely shut down the module. As we sit drifting I compose a message to the pilot in hopes they'll take the offer.

Look bud, we are willing to offer you double the payout of the bounty to just let us go. There has to be some misunderstanding with the PF. We haven't done anything wrong.

I press send on the message panel and ready the credit transfer. The rhythmic sound of thumping echos through the hull, followed by a second barrage.

'Imperial hammers. Shit they are targeting the thruster assembly.' I state as another rhythmic beat of rail munitions rings through the hull.

'Shit. I guess talking is out of the equation.' Venus says.

She looks at the modules panel while hitting the boost again. A trail of violet exhaust follows behind Memento Mori. The pilot of the FDL manages to keep us in range of their rail guns and unleashes another barrage. At the last possible moment, Venus shuts off FA and points the nose of the Phantom 90 degrees and fires off the boosters. The FDL passes by us but manages to quickly correct their trajectory.

'Damnit this guy is good.'

"WARNING! Incoming projectile."

'June what is it?' Venus asks in a concerned voice.

"Looks to be a smart fire torpedo.... correction torpedos."

The point defense turrets activate and unleash a barrage of violet tracers, quickly dispatching the torpedoes. This clearly upset the pilot of the FDL, as they unleashed another barrage of railgun munitions aimed perfectly at the main thruster module. Though Venus was an elite pilot she couldn't seem to break free from the FDL's targeting vector. The counter for the point defense turrets hits zero and Venus takes a deep breath and utters a command.

'Silv, June when I say, I need you both to shut down the ship. Silv, on my command kill FA, June kill everything and jettison two escape pods....'

"Warning incoming projectile."

There is a long pause as Venus watches the torpedoes closing in on Memento Mori. Time seems to slow to a creep as they reach 20m. My finger hovers over the FA button. I hold my breath in anticipation as the rounds close in. 4m then Venus calls out.

'NOW!'

In an instant I hit the flight assist button and June kills the ships power. 2 thunderous explosions echo throughout the hull as the torpedoes impact and erupt just before the shields dissipate fully. 2 escape pods rocket off into the void. Coolant and rocket fuel leak out into the empty vacuum of space. Memento Mori tumbles through the vast emptiness as the FDL performs a scan on the ship determining it to be dead. Limpets spill out of the ship's cargo hold to further sell the idea the torpedo hits were a kill shot. Chunks of hull drift away from the ship and the FDL quickly scoops the escape pods and departs the system. June had managed to falsify the data output from them to state they were occupied.

****

The silence is eerie. The sounds of Venus breathing and a few sparking noises from just outside the cockpit fill give a disturbing ambiance to the environment.

'Ok June, power on only essential systems and get us the hell out of here.' Venus finally states after what feels like and eternity.

"I must say, I am impressed that worked." June responds.

'It really only ever works on the newer hunters. The veterans are the ones I am more concerned about. Typically they wont leave until they verify the pods are actually occupied. In this case by the time they realize the pods are empty we will be long gone.' Venus explains.

The ship buzzes with a familiar hum as only flight critical and life support systems reactivate. Melli's protective crate opens back up with a hiss as the oxygen supply returns to the cockpit. The little fluff ball awkwardly exits and places a paw on the floor with a slight magnetic click, followed by three more as she manages to find her footing. Taking a quick sniff around to ensure the environment was not filled with any strange smells she makes her way to my seat.

'Systems online. We are ready to depart Venus.' I say giving Melli a light pat on the head.

The FSD begins to hum with vigor as it charges up. Then with a crackling thunder like boom Memento Mori blips into witch space. A moment later the main sequence star of Amenta appears in front of us, shining brightly and welcoming us back to imperial space for the first time in over a year. As we traversed the short distance to Amenta A6 and began to enter atmosphere a small joyous tear streaks down Venus face. Though she would likely tell the general public she didn't care about her title and status in the Empire it was moments like this that showed how she truly felt about her position in the Empire.

****

Flames engulf the exterior of the ship as we breach the upper atmosphere. Chunks of the ship that were barely attached and hanging on by a thread are ripped away and burn up. Temperatures on the interior of the ship nearest the hull breaches, heat up to intolerable levels burning off layers of dust and any flammable materials. The SRV bay once again becomes exposed to the atmosphere due to a loose repair panel ripping free. The large chunk of metal peels away from the ship tumbling as it crashes down towards the planetary surface. The large breach makes it increasingly difficult to maintain a stable trajectory. Venus struggles with the controls fighting off the spin due to the excessive levels of drag. The wing damaged by the volcanic eruption begins to glow as the heat quickly soaks into the unprotected metal.

Civilians on the ground below stare in shock as they watch the ship breaking apart. Many of whom wonder if this was a Gutamaya ship disintegrating upon reentry, some question if it's an asteroid breaking up in the atmosphere, a few conspiring individuals think it's a government ploy to distract the lower class civilians from something shady. The crew at Venus' mansion watch in disbelief as a fireball rockets towards them at an alarming rate.

Venus finally manages to get the ships descent under control and the ship slows having successfully performed the reentry glide. Lowering the landing gear she calls over the comms to the ground crew and flight control tower requesting permission to land. The tower personnel authorize landing and Venus proceeds. With a great deal of effort and a deafening roar the functioning landing thrusters roar out having to compensate for the damaged or inoperable ones. Then finally after what seemed like the worst roller coaster ride ever the ship touches down on the pad. A long metallic groan echoes through the ship and across the pad as the landing gear takes on the full weight of the ship. Fluid leaks from one of the hydraulic supports and from some ruptured coolant lines. Cold hydrogen gas vapors steam out of a ruptured fuel line hissing and sputtering as small chunks of frozen moisture are forced away from the damaged lines.

With a long heavy sigh Venus stands from her seat and proceeds to the captains quarters to gather what few items we had on board. Following close behind her I grab a few more items to include some of the toys for Melli. Stepping off the ship there is a creaking groan followed by a loud clanging as a panel falls loose from the damaged ship. Another groan as the ship landing gear settles onto their locks fully supporting the badly damaged Krait Phantom. Nobles who had been visiting the estate stare in disgust at the sight of the horribly damaged ship. Compared to the luxurious Gutamaya ships Memento Mori looked like a homeless mans ship. Murmuring and words of disgust can be heard as we approach followed by apologetic pleas once they realize who the "Vagrants" who had landed at an imperial mansion in a trash heap were.

'Oh, Your Grace please forgive me. I had no idea this was your ship.' One of the nobles stated.

'Your Grace, you have returned to us finally. We must have a party in your honor.' One of the more pompous looking men states.

'All of you. Go. Away.' Venus says very clearly already annoyed by the snobby look at me attitudes from the lesser upper class Imperial members.

Turning to me, she reaches out a hand and pulls me quickly inside the mansion. Once inside she whispers something to one of the staff and we rush away to the master bedroom to clean ourselves from the soot and other grime that covered us. Outside, the alarms and sirens blare for the ship platform movement alert system, causing a group of Imperials to turn and watch as the ship is pulled into the hangar. Each trying to get a glimpse at Venus' fleet of ships and hoping to glimpse at the Fabled Ripjaw said to have been through hell in many Thargoid occupied extraction zones. The ship can be seen in the middle of the hangar shining in its galvanized palladium paint scheme, corrosion burns scattered across it from its last mission into hells teeth.

****

I strip out of my flight suit and step into the shower. Venus steps in shortly after and the two of us hold each other closely, letting the warm water wash over us. The warmth from the water causing my skin to tingle as Venus runs a hand down to my butt, grabbing it firmly.

'This, is mine.' She says teasingly as she grips it firmly.

The touch sends a jolt through my body exciting me on a level I had nearly forgotten existed. I let out a soft moan as she leans in for a kiss, her other hand slipping down between my thighs. I let out another soft moan as she begins to gently massage her fingers around and in. My mind goes blank as I slip into a trance from her touch. Seconds turn to minutes, that turn to hours, as the two of us take turns slowly pushing the boundaries of complete ecstasy. Our hips slowly rocking back and forth as hands and fingers search for and find their targets. Gentle nips and playful bites cause soft moans to escape from both Venus and myself. Nearing the end of the shower Venus pushes me against the shower wall, the cold tile of the wall causes me to let out a gasp. Venus moves her fingers more vigorously, each stroke bringing me closer and closer to the edge, until finally I let out an unhindered moan.

'Venus! Oh Fuck, Venus. Yes!'

My mind goes completely blank as ecstasy washes over me, and my body trembles from pleasure. Venus Guides me to the floor gently after shutting off the water. She dries herself off quickly then returns to pick me up from the shower floor helping me to dry off then carries me to the bed. Venus places me down onto the mattress, the soft cool sheets welcoming me and wrapping me in a comforting embrace. Venus joins me after asking the staff to not disturb us and closing the curtains. She rests a hand on one of my breasts and places her head on my chest. I gently stroke her silky blue hair and drift slowly off to sleep. Melli hops onto the bed and curls herself into a ball in the space between my legs. For the first time in a year everything felt perfect. Though with the way the bubble was this peace was only temporary and unknown complications would likely arise, but for now, peace was a much needed respite from the trauma we had all been through.

OOC:

I want to thank all of my readers from the past year, as well as all of the amazing people I have had the pleasure of writing with. I set out on this journey In January with the end goal of making it to the end of the year. If it had not been for many great commanders I likely would not have made it this far. I will return to writing next year sometime. Thank you readers for giving me the silly little stars to let me know you enjoyed my writings. Take care and remember Fly safe, Live Dangerously.
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