Theatrics, Decisions, and Evolution
08 Jun 2024Xochitl Khae
Theatrics
_____________________________
Tara realized her knowledge of pirates was limited even though her partner was one. They had raided planetary and lunar facilities, stashes, prizes, and had taken their fair share of ships in the stars above, but the inner workings remained a mystery. While there was plenty of literature on what her partner called the unwashed morons, there was little on the style he seemed to follow, as if going by a script.
Bars, brothels, fences, economic maneuvering, sleight-of-hand subterfuge, while shedding as little blood as possible, even against one's adversaries. The only statistical model she could find that remotely defined everything was that of a corporate carnivore.
Aby, he knew, was a mole for his benefactor, with the doctor being turned early. Before his own fleet asset had made a jump, it was more cloak and dagger than ancient swashbuckler, swinging from a rope, sword in hand, to board and seize a prize.
To Tara’s surprise, Ryuko had all of his officers suit up and meet him at one of the carrier’s lesser cargo holds. Many of the larger ones held additional fuel for the ship, but some of the lesser remained empty, slated for any cargo he would be returning with. Everyone was fully suited, including the ship’s doctor, but not Aby, who required no suit.
Ryuko guided Aby to the edge, looking down briefly at the moon far below. Looking over his shoulder briefly, Captain Akio nodded, as Ryuko turned his attention back to Aby, placing his armored glove on his back.
“You were always the benefactor’s asset, and while annoying, that was a role I had to live with. One that became necessary, but with restrictions applied. To turn a member of this crew is mutiny. Unlike Scyles, you will not be deposited at a station, but also unlike Scyles, you have an emergency locator beacon, and now you can test the limits of that.”
Ryuko shoved Aby hard, out over the cargo bay’s opening, as Akio behind them gave an order. The large carrier’s thrusters fired briefly, moving up and away, leaving the android Aby to float in space alone, with the carrier moving away from him.
A smile spread on Tara’s face as she witnessed the ancient form of ‘walking the plank’ play out in real time. Ryuko turned around to face his officers, nodding his head as Captain Akio gave the order to close the cargo bay doors. The thrusters stopped firing, allowing the ship to drift away from the Lagrange point, leaving Aby alone to float in space, with only the hope that Zaria might find his emergency locator beacon and rescue him before his power ran out.
“Mutiny on this ship, as with any other, will be punished. Don’t forget that this is a pirate ship, so the punishment will fit the crime.”
Ryuko turned his head towards the two security droids holding Doctor Anansi Quipu, the ship’s chief medical officer. “No plank for you today, Doctor. Release him.”
“You’re letting him go?” Tara asked, both shocked and surprised, as each of the officers looked at one another in equal confusion—all except Captain Akio, who kept a stoic expression, studying the situation rather than reacting emotionally.
“Yes, you are being released, but know that you are on a short leash. Accept a bribe from anyone, for any reason again, and you will become a phoenix.”
A look of horror appeared in Anansi’s eyes, as Tara’s confused expression became more pronounced. “Aside from mythology and lore, what is a phoenix?”
“It is when you strap them to the front of a ship’s hull, with their arms outstretched, and begin a slow descent through a planet’s atmosphere until they become a burning flame that looks like a phoenix,” Akio said with a flat tone, looking over at the doctor. “And, if it is on my watch, it will be me that straps you there.”
ara paused, referencing the punishment, as Ryuko looked at each of his officers.
“Akio, my quarters if you please. All others, back to whatever it was you were doing before… dismissed.”
Akio walked out of the cargo hold with the other officers, while Tara looked back at the closed cargo bay doors. “I understand now. A phoenix is the modern version of a keel-hauling.”
“In a roundabout way, yes,” Ryuko said, a sly smirk appearing on his face. “When you asked earlier what we were going to do, I did say be a pirate. Unfortunately, we have no parrot or eyepatch, but I guess we can deal with that later when I speak with the android master chef.”
“Theatrics?” Tara asked as the pressure and atmosphere in the bay re-established themselves back to habitable norms.
“More so, yes,” Ryuko replied, removing his helmet. “He knows about the real you, so I can’t kick him off the ship like Scyles. This means I need to keep him here, with the image of a horrific punishment as a forethought in his mind.”
Tara’s voice changed to an icy tone, her protective programming beginning to activate. “If he knows what I really am, then that makes him a threat to both of us.”
Ryuko held up his hand, motioning for her to calm down. “Yes, but there is a solution. For now, I need him where he can be monitored and controlled without any messy explanations as to where he went.”
Tara's expression softened slightly, though the tension in her posture remained. “And how do you propose we keep him in check?”
“Think like a pirate,” Ryuko said with a smile, looking up at the cargo bay ceiling.
Decisions
_____________________________
“Not that far removed from reality,” Captain Akio said, the corner of his lip curling into a smile while staring at Tara. “That your benefactor has her listed as human, with a complete backstory, is enough for them to want to keep the doctor silent as well. Being an enabler to a capital offense is not good for business, especially one as woven as his, with more deep pockets than we are ever likely to know in cahoots with him.”
Ryuko leaned back in his chair, legs crossed, sipping on a hot beverage. “I could turn the doctor into a phoenix, but that proves little other than cruelty. Though Machiavelli said it was better to be feared than loved, I have served a good part of my life on pirate crews of both types, and he is wrong on both counts. Fear doesn’t give the loyalty that love does, but earned respect trumps them both."
Tara weighed the information, shaking her head. “Imagine the political fallout that releasing what he knows would have, with the other signatories. Imperial threats would not prevent him from selling his knowledge to either the Federation or Alliance, both of which would shield him from the empire, or for as long as he was useful for them to do so.”
Akio leaned forward in his chair, weighing the options. “You can’t exile him, or reassign him, and you can’t burn him to atoms. Keeping him on the ship, incommunicado, indefinitely either. Each person has their breaking point, and he is likely shorter than most.”
Ryuko continued sipping his beverage, not liking the option that popped into his mind but also seeing no other choice. “There is only one way that I know of, and it is not pretty, but he remains alive at the end. Unfortunately, there is no trade-off in a situation like this, and I doubt, for all of his advanced medical education, or Aby’s advanced AI, that either could foresee the potential consequences of their actions.”
Captain Akio’s eyes cast downwards as he nodded his head, understanding what Ryuko was talking about as Tara looked between them with a confused look on her face. “And what is that way?”
“I have not looked at your past assignments before, captain, but it seems you already understand what I am talking about.”
“I had my own upbringing, among folk who were of a different cloth but of similar persuasion. For a pirate, you are well-rounded and educated with a measured touch of ruthlessness.”
Ryuko smiled, lifting his cup to take a sip while looking down towards Akio. “I ended up with the right mentor and the right captain.”
“That’s all well and good, but what is this option?” Tara asked, looking between them.
Ryuko uncrossed his legs and leaned forward, looking at Tara. “Listen, everyone in this sordid scenario goofed, in a large way…”
“And, I doubt this benefactor of yours had any say in this,” Akio interrupted. “Someone doesn’t get to where you say they have managed by making amateur moves that could have major political consequences like this.”
“Doubt that it was Zaria either,” Ryuko stated, sipping once more on his beverage.
Akio steepled his hands together. “That leaves Aby acting independently, or on orders of another.”
Ryuko stood up and walked over to a little heated decanter to refresh the cup in his hand. “It doesn’t solve the issue of what has been done, and the doctor stepping face first into it.”
Akio sighed. “Hate losing him, but he did put this noose around his own neck. Trouble is, we can’t get rid of him after the fact either.”
Tara watched their banter, back and forth, tilting her head one way and then the other, before holding up her hand. “This is all confusing for me. Would either of you care to illuminate the solution?”
Akio leaned forward, looking at Tara as Ryuko turned around with a fresh steaming cup in his hand, motioning with it towards her. “I am going to use a rare commodity to get a handle on him, and if that fails, then that leaves us with two options. A mind wipe, being the lesser of the two evils, or turn him over to my benefactor for his disposition.”
“I imagine your benefactor will want him once he learns of everything that has transpired,” Akio stated. “How do you plan on covering all of this up and keeping the two apart?”
Ryuko took a sip of his drink, examining the cup in his hand. “I imagine that Aby was duty-driven to report the entire incident, so trying to hide it would be a waste of our time. My surprise, at this stage, is that they are not on our landing pad, demanding we turn him over.”
Ryuko walked back to his chair, taking a seat. “Well, now that we know what we are going to do, I guess this is the point where I issue a directive. If my benefactor or his agents wish to come aboard, they are to be denied landing privileges. If they complain, he, not they, can contact me and I will fill him in. Other than that, I need to get the passenger Python reconfigured for a little expeditionary cargo work.”
Akio leaned back in his chair once more. “Not assigning anything to them but what if they attempt to interdict you and hold you in exchange for the doctor?”
A smile appeared on Ryuko’s face as he looked over at Tara. “That’s where those little niche weapons I have squirreled away come in. A few flechettes here, some engineered mines there, and an overcharged frame-shift drive, just to make it interesting.”
Akio laughed, raising his own drink high. “Like I said before. For a pirate, you are well-rounded and educated with a measured touch of ruthlessness.”
Evolution
_____________________________
Security chief Elliot Botella watched as medical personnel attended to the wounded, while technicians and security personnel scoured the base, finding no physical damage other than a stolen power regulator, several packets of sensitive data, and a handful of easily replaceable minor goods.
All except one had been knocked unconscious by a nondescript person in a dark gray maverick suit with a darkened faceplate. Each time, they appeared suddenly and attacked quickly, not giving anyone they encountered a chance to question their presence or draw their weapon; all except one.
Technician First Class Aleeah Buck encountered the individual when they entered the habitat module. Instead of attacking from surprise, they chose to use their suit’s cutting tool to break the lock on the secure locker, all while Aleeah engaged them with her ballistic pistol.
Chief Botella made a huffing sound as he walked into the habitat module, noticing the damage from several stray bullets that impacted the areas around where the raider had visited before retreating from the habitat, back into the hallway, sealing the technician inside.
It was a similar pattern to what had been reported in other holdings of his faction, though sixty light-years remote. The raiders went out of their way to disable rather than kill those at each facility, with a few exceptions where all personnel were forfeit. Each time, even in those rare cases, they always left one alive, not out of any particular mercy, but more as a distraction from their larger objectives. These usually included the facility being a secondary target, to remove its offensive and defensive capabilities, before interdicting ships either passing through the supposed lanes of safe travel or in the immediate space above, close enough to the moon or planet where they could duck down to a place of refuge.
Their first target had been an unshielded ASP Scout. Its wreckage lay nearby, but its demise was not due to this pirate finishing them. On the contrary, the facility's security drone, which they did not disable, recorded the pirate making several attempts to save the stricken ship, all while releasing its cargo to be collected. Of the 21 Imperial Slaves listed on its manifest, 15 were missing, with only six, plus the pilot’s bodies being accounted for.
A not-too-dissimilar scene played out one kilometer distant, where an Adder class small transport sat on the moon’s surface, its engines and chaff dispensers having been disabled, but the craft and its pilot otherwise unharmed. Again, the installation's drone captured the footage, showing the pirate ship relieving the Adder of its cargo, all while using the surface of its own frame to slow the Adder’s descent to the surface, allowing it to survive the encounter.
Of its manifest, 6 Imperial Slaves and 8 Military plans were taken, the latter being reported ejected over the installation, scattered across the base.
Chief Botella looked at his tablet, reading similar reports from other installations and moons far removed from this one. In one instance, while in orbit near the system’s host star, they relieved a larger Type-7 transport of its technical blueprints and trade data. After the heist, they used their own ship to push the cargo ship away from the star, ensuring it had sufficient velocity to escape the star’s gravitational influence.
In another incident, they similarly disabled another Type-7, removing more technical blueprints from its hold, then using the same as bait, waiting for one of his faction’s ships to interdict them, where they then set about pirating the pirate, relieving them of any cargo, their bounties, and when the pilot was able to eject in good order, they also secured the occupied escape pod.
Each time, except against other pirates, they strove to be as bloodless as possible, though no less ruthless in their efficiency. Botella knew this was not the average pirate committing these acts but one of a more purposeful vision.
In his time serving in the security services of a major pirate faction, he had seen many forms of individuals pass through his area of responsibility. Most of the lower factions were crass, barbaric, unwashed, and tattooed ruffians who fired first and took little as a prize, including a target’s cargo. Their types always burned out fast, amassing enough in bounties that other pirates sought their heads as a prize.
Among them were the more seasoned and professional, learning the politics of the area fencers and black markets. They lasted far longer, many of their ilk surviving long enough to reach whatever goal they had set for themselves, and then ceasing once it was reached.
Then there were the true pirates. Those who knew that blood was often a negative for business, except for rare circumstances. They would not have any bounties and would thread the particle beam fine thread of the gray areas between illegal and legitimate. They would walk in the middle of crowds, being seen as upstanding persons among the communities. The types he knew as the more dangerous of them all.
The technicians were balking at having to replace the power regulator, but Botella knew that coveted item was valuable to those seeking to engineer their suits and weapons. This type of pirate would not sell it to any fence but would scour the data feeds, looking for buyers offering the best prices, or would sell it themselves, at a price that would undercut others in their region, while making a sizable profit from doing so.
Botella walked outside, watching all of the action taking place around him. This wasn’t personal for their type but simply business. A business that was, unfortunately for them, cutting into his faction’s profits. The only question was who told them about this particular route and what goods it carried.
Ryuko sat back in his quarters, his eyes drifting as he read the income reports from each of his section heads. They had netted a smidgen less than half a billion in sales, more than covering the total expenses for nearly a standard year.
Lianna and Jabir sat together on the couch in the front room of his quarters, their eyes and mouths open at the figures moving across the screen.
“That’s a shipload of credits in a short time,” Lianna stated in shock, as Ryuko grunted.
“This is what setting the pulse of the market looks like, and it is only the beginning. If we continue this trend, we will begin to establish our regional reputations, at which time we will be dictating to the market.”
“That is the point where everyone profits the most,” Tara interjected. “The independent pirates will begin to filter our direction, as we can undercut the markets.”
“How does that work exactly?” Jabir asked.
“Capital ships are unique in that they can both buy and sell engineering items, whereas fixed system assets can only buy, or allow a trade across like kind items, like goods and chemicals. We are also mobile, with a far lower overhead that no system can compete against.”
“But doesn’t this place us out in the open, where we don’t need to be?”
“Yes and no. We are offering a service that they cannot, so if done correctly, we augment the system versus direct competition, allowing for all parties to profit, like the deal I have set up with Beau. We fence all of the engineering items, and all non-engineering is his to profit from. Likewise, any cargo we take that we want to fence, we send it through him, versus our own marketeer, and then we take the proceeds from that transaction and purchase legitimate items that can be transported and sold on any market. Beau and his profit, and on the other side, we profit.”
Lianna whistled softly, looking at Ryuko. “Damn, that’s slick.”
“It is simply good business,” Tara stated, with a smile on her face.
“Listen,” Ryuko said, with tired eyes as he leaned forward to address Jabir and Lianna. “You two are to guard your employer's goods and to interdict the pirates who are attempting to do so. I can train you how to hunt and kill, but that solves singular problems without addressing the larger issue. To control them, you have to have enough influence in the market to make the products you are trying to protect unprofitable. Then you can kill the small and rare independent raiders or those of a competitor, but more often than not your clientele will do that for you, because it is good for their business.”
Jabir nodded thoughtfully. “So, by controlling the market, we essentially control the pirates as well?”
“Exactly,” Ryuko confirmed. “If you control the supply and demand, you can manipulate the value of goods to your advantage. Pirates won’t bother with cargo that isn’t worth the risk, and those who do will find themselves quickly outmatched by our clients, who have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo.”
Lianna leaned forward, her brow furrowed in concentration. “But what about the ones who don’t care about the market? The ones who just want to cause chaos?”
Ryuko sighed, rubbing his temples. “Those are the ones you take out. Swiftly and decisively. They’re a minority, but they exist. Your job is to make sure they know that crossing you is a death sentence. Your reputation will do the rest.”
Tara, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, added, “Remember, it’s not just about force. It’s about strategy. We’re not just thugs; we’re business people. We’re playing a long game here.”
Ryuko looked at each of them, ensuring they understood the situation. “This isn’t just about protecting cargo. It’s about creating a system where your influence is so strong that piracy becomes a futile effort for anyone who tries. That’s how you win. By making it clear that you’re the ones in control, and anyone who steps out of line will be dealt with accordingly.”
Jabir snorted. “And when do we learn to do all of this? We once flew with you, but now you have me with the countess running a brothel, and she spends her day with the bridge crew.”
Ryuko huffed, turning his eyes up to look at Tara, who lifted a hand to examine her nails. “What have you learned during your time with the girls? How to pry secrets from a man’s soul? And her, what has she learned during her time with those who manage everything and plot the courses? Have you paid attention and learned how to administer things larger than yourself?”
“Yes,” Ryuko added, “what have the two of you learned, or have either one of you been paying attention to larger things? Your complaint is with yourself, not with where I place you. This is now your lesson. Do nothing that does not profit you in some fashion. Learn the lesson from others, and somewhere in between, try not to lose focus on who and what you are, otherwise all of this will consume you, as it did Scyles.”
Lianna frowned, her eyes narrowing. “But we were fighters, Ryuko. You taught us to be pirates, to take what we need. Now we’re... administrators?”
Ryuko’s expression softened slightly. “Being a pirate isn’t just about taking. It’s about control, influence, and strategy. The fighting is just one part. You need to understand the broader picture, and how to manipulate situations to your advantage without always resorting to violence. That’s why you’re where you are. To learn those skills.”
Jabir shook his head, still unconvinced. “And how does running a brothel teach me that?”
Tara interjected, her voice calm but firm. “Running a brothel is about managing people, resources, and information. It’s about understanding desires and motivations, about control and subtlety. These are the same skills you need to run a crew, manage a ship, to negotiate deals. If you can master this, you can master anything.”
Ryuko nodded. “Tara’s right. Every position I’ve placed you in is a piece of a larger puzzle. Each lesson is designed to make you more versatile, and more capable. Do you think I got to where I am just by interdicting ships and shooting my laser pistol? No. I learned to understand the system and to play the long game.”
Lianna and Jabir exchanged a glance.
“Trust the process,” Ryuko continued. “You’re learning skills that will serve you in ways you can’t yet imagine. Don’t limit yourself to the narrow view of what you think a pirate is. Expand your horizons. Become more.”
Tara pushed herself off the wall, looking down at both of them. “Tomorrow you change your positions. Jabir, you will be with the android master chef. Everyone from the diplomat on down to the unwashed barbaric wannabe pions who call themselves pirates, have to eat. Learn about what goes into someone, what provides them with what they need, and more so what can take it away. Lianna, you will be with engineering. I want the Python refitted for heavy haul interdictions. Understand what it is that makes up a ship, and how to balance it.”
Jabir opened his mouth to protest but then thought better of it, nodding instead.
“Now, get some rest," Ryuko said, standing up. His weariness was evident as he turned to walk back towards his suite's bedroom. "Tomorrow’s a new day, and we all have a lot of work ahead of us."