Bitter Truth
25 May 2024Xochitl Khae
Bitter Truth
Colonia Region
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Lianna made minor adjustments to the speed of the Krait, maintaining its position under 200 meters from the disabled cargo ship in front of them. Collector limpets zipped between the two ships, retrieving cargo and bringing it aboard.
“20 tons on board, 18 tons remain,” Jabir announced as Lianna activated another hatch breaker limpet. This countered the target ship’s automatic systems, which would otherwise detect the cargo hatch open error and close it to prevent further loss.
Ryuko and Tara stood at the back of the bridge, dressed in their armored suits in case boarding and seizing the crew and cargo became necessary.
Lianna nodded, keying the communications system. “Commander Wheeler, the process is almost complete. Once we have relieved you of all your cargo, I will maneuver around you and push you away from the pull of the system’s star's gravity. You are to activate your distress beacon at that time.”
Several seconds passed before a reply came back, broadcast across the bridge. “I will be at the mercy of others until help arrives. What do I do then?”
“There is no reason for them to bother you, as you will have no cargo on board,” Lianna responded immediately. Even bandits and raiders wouldn’t waste their efforts on an empty ship. “In any case, we will report your position to the local navigational beacon. System security should arrive within minutes.”
Tara looked over at Ryuko, whose smile could be seen behind the tinted faceplate of his helmet.
“You’ve learned well, Lianna,” Tara said. “Living and healthy prey returns to provide us with profit another day.”
Every face had a smile on it except for Scyles, who grimaced while manning the Krait’s scanner position.
‘We are pleased with your companion,’ a voice said inside of Tara. ‘He is not only compassionate but a seasoned and moral hunter.’
“2 tons remain,” Jabir announced as Scyles called out, “Scanners remain clear.”
“Commander Wheeler, we are a few seconds from being completed. If you please, give me the final status of your reactor and life support, and then activate your distress beacon.”
“Reactor and life support are at 100% and undamaged. Activating my beacon… thank you for not killing me.”
“You will be fine, Commander, and thank you for being cooperative. Happy journeys,” Lianna replied as she watched the last two collector limpets racing back to her ship, to deposit the remaining cargo into its hold.
Ryuko looked at Tara before turning his eyes to the back of the pilot’s chair. “While not the best loot we could have taken, it keeps their ledger in the black. Let’s take our leave and head back to the local station.”
“We let that pirate pilot go, just like that?” Scyles asked venom in his tone.
Tara huffed at the statement. “We pirated a pirate transport and will sell it to a pirate’s black market. A little late in the game to realize that the same things you hate are what stare back at you in the mirror.”
Scyles unbuckled himself, bolting upright from his seat, but not before Ryuko closed the distance, knocking him off his feet and pinning him to the deck. Scyles struggled and screamed in rage, but he could not overpower Ryuko’s suit actuators.
“Get the magnetic restraints,” Tara commanded Jabir, who unbuckled himself, rising from his seat, maneuvering around Tara and out of the cockpit to retrieve the items from the armory.
“By the time we make port, you are off my ship,” Ryuko hissed. While Scyles’ overly aggressive nature and inability to adapt to Ryuko’s style of bloodless piracy could be overlooked to a point, rising to attack the quartermaster was an offense that would have seen him face far worse than what he was getting now on most other pirate ships.
Jabir reappeared, handing Tara the restraints. She pushed Scyles over with her boot, kneeling down to place them on his wrists.
“Imagine Zaria won’t be too happy about this, but I honestly don’t give a shit,” Tara stated, clamping the restraints on Scyles as he cursed and threatened everyone, trying in vain to overpower Ryuko’s armored suit.
“We are five minutes out,” Lianna said aloud, her voice unusually calm during such a tense moment, catching both Ryuko’s and Tara’s notice.
Even though he was restrained, Ryuko maintained his posture, keeping Scyles pinned to the deck. He turned his head to look back at Jabir, who also appeared calmer than normal. Ryuko looked up at Tara, who was glaring down at Scyles, his struggle becoming less as he weakened.
“You know from your past how bad pirates can be. You also know I don’t make idle threats. Now, I don’t know or care whether Zaria will retrieve you or not, but let’s make one thing laser lens clear. You ever threaten a member of my crew, even look at them dirty, and you will see what I learned through all of my years with them.”
Scyles, exhausted, glared at Ryuko, who stared back at him with emotionless eyes. “No, I haven’t forgotten how to make an example. Give me a reason to revisit that,” he hissed as Scyles turned his glaring eyes to look toward the bulkhead.
Ryuko turned his head to look at Tara, “Send a message to our new friend Beau, at the local bar. Tell him we found him someone who would be perfect for menial labor.” He could see Tara’s smile behind her helmet’s face plate as she linked her own suit’s communicator to the ship's systems.
“Since you hate our kind so bad, you can spend your time in service to us. If Zaria wants you back, she can pay the going market rate. If you are not thankful for this fate, then we can visit what the actual punishment for your crime is onboard a pirate vessel… you choose.”
Scyles said nothing, keeping his burning eyes fixed on the bulkhead, knowing that there was nothing he could do, even if unrestrained, against either of them, while they were in their armored and shielded boarding suits and he was in a simple flight suit.
Ryuko wasn’t surprised that it had come to this, but what was troubling him was why now. Using his suit to keep a restrained Scyles pinned, he activated its camera and recording function.
The ship leaned as Lianna altered course, maneuvering into position to begin her landing procedure at the orbital station.
“What I don’t get is why volunteer for this? You had a choice, or that is my understanding of the situation. Why expose yourself to become what you hate?”
A grin appeared on Scyles' face as he turned his glaring eyes up at Ryuko. “It gave me a chance to kill more of your kind,” he growled.
Ryuko huffed. “There is an old Earth saying about the wrath of a woman scorned.”
“Ha! That woman is weak and easily duped, her title of hunter is nothing more than that.”
He wasn’t there to see how easily she bested a wing of ships, or how she tossed Tara, a synthetic biomorph. She was anything but weak. Her insight was of equal measure. It was likely she knew this moment would happen, but only time would answer that question.
The ship jolted as the landing gear compressed on the station’s landing pad.
“There is a group of people out here,” Lianna said as Ryuko grabbed Scyles, pulling him up to his feet.
“You are entitled to your beliefs, but what if the truth is far different than what you think? The good news is you will have plenty of time to consider these things.”
As they neared the end of the stairs leading down from the Krait, Ryuko kicked the legs out from under Scyles, sending him down the last two steps and onto the landing pad, where a modestly dressed man tilted his head, considering the person at his feet. Two hulking security personnel in blackened armor were flanking him, stun wands in their hands.
“Our mutual friend Beau said you were bringing gifts other than the cargo in your hold.”
“This one likes to play the pirate to kill pirates,” Tara stated, stepping onto the deck next to Ryuko. He eyed the pirate killer at their feet, debating on giving him a kick but deciding against it. “Don’t kill this one, if it can be avoided. There may be those coming soon to purchase him for their own uses.”
The man flashed a toothy smile, nudging Scyles with the tip of his boot. “He is a little large for the task but I bet we can make him fit down the station’s sanitation channels. They are long overdue for cleaning.”
Scyles turned his glaring eyes up towards the man as one of the blackened armored guards bent down, sticking Scyles with his shock wand, causing him to convulse.
“That was at its lowest setting,” the man said, placing the tip of his boot next to Scyle’s face. “He appears to have an aptitude for the position. Who knows, perhaps once he is done with that task, if he has any fire left within him, we can feature him as a new attraction for some of the more adventurous types at the local brothel?”
Ryuko kept his face neutral, nodding his head towards his ship. “Don’t forget we have a recent haul from one of your competitors, waiting in our hold. I understand that battle weapons are on your faction's menu.”
The toothy grin remained on his face as he motioned for the guards to remove Scyles. “Indeed they are, and we offer generous compensation for those so welcoming to our needs.”