God has no place in business, his feeble moral tales only seek to console the weak.
Stephen R. Douglas, First President of the Board
Captain Isaac Stern snarled through his breath mask, he wasn't going to let them go. " Open fire, burn through the door and bring them out" said Isaac.
" Yes sir" said the sergeant.
The 19 Space Marines began to fire at the strange alien vessel. The bright red pulse blasts were harmlessly absorbed into the hull. " Grenades!" shouted Isaac, " blow it apart!"
The marines began hurling their sonic grenades, each one detonating underneath the ship, but again the energy was absorbed into the ship. " Nova Charges!" shouted Isaac, now extremely angry.
" But sir" said a corporal, " we have to get permission to use nuclear devices."
" And if we let the ship escape we will be mining rocks with the rest of the trash" said Isaac, " now move, place them towards the engines, hopefully we can disrupt their ability to escape."
Isaac led the squad for the rear, as they passed the first mile a hatch opened. " Inside" he shouted.
The squad raced into the ship just in time for the engines to fire. The ship fired two pulses of bright blue energy which blew a hole to the surface, all eight miles up. The ship gracefully flew from the hole into the sky. Athena and the other cheered as the ship broke from the atmosphere and went into space. But their joy was soon checked by the appearance of six TUC warships, including a massive battlecruiser. " This is the TDV Battlecruiser Pollux, you are ordered to stand down and prepare for boarding" came an official voice over the intercom.
" Star" said Athena, " can we fire?"
" I'm sorry but the weapon systems aren't on the back-up power source" said Starlight, " those two blasts were all I had stored, but I can jump to hyperspace if you wish."
" Really?" asked Ami, " without a gate?"
" Yes" said Starlight.
" Do it" said Athena.
A great red vortex opened beneath the TUC warships and the Starlight Dancer simply slipped into it. " Captain, please give me a course" said Starlight.
" Head for 125 by 210 by 74" said Jason.
" What is that?" asked Ami.
" The Tarsus Badlands" said Jason, " the one place is this sector that they can't find us."
" Course set" said Starlight, " projected ETA to edge of the Tarsus Badlands is two days forty nine minutes. I suggest you follow me down to the second level where you will find quarters. My previous crew was very much like you I hope the quarters will meet with your approval."
" I know they will" said Athena, " we're use to rock hard mattresses in cramped hot little boxes, anything will be better."
" This way please" said Starlight, floating across the floor.
" Excuse me" said Ami, " how do you float?"
" I am modeled after the designers of the ship" said Starlight.
" So this is what the Naesians looked like?" asked Ami.
" Yes" said Starlight, " I assume my designers are no more."
" The Naesian culture has been extinct for thousands of years" said Jason, " we find bits and pieces of what they left behind across hundreds of worlds. The TUC funds expeditions like the one we were on looking to find pieces of your technology to advance their conquest of the galaxy."
" Judging by your brain waves you are not exactly that friendly with this TUC" said Starlight.
" No" said Athena, " in fact they are hunting us and trying to kill us."
" Then why bring one of them on board?" asked Starlight.
" Insurance" said Athena, " where is she?"
" I have secured her in quarters close to yours" said Starlight, " I have made sure to lock the door."
The climbed down a spiral staircase, " I'm sorry but the elevators are still powering up" said Starlight, " this part of the ship should be fully operational by tomorrow, but unfortunately my food supply is very low. I only have emergency rations to last two weeks."
" Guess we'll have to sneak back into TUC Space and get supplies" said Robert, " does this ship have any shuttles?"
" Fifteen" said Starlight, " but like me they haven't been used in quiet some time, they might need to warm up."
" We'll probably make use of one once we reach the badlands" said Athena.
Starlight showed each of them to their quarters, they were surprised by how spacious they were, they were open and looked extremely comfortable. Athena looked around at it, she had never seen quarters this big ever. They looked like Citizen luxury quarters, Athena had seen a few of those while working for a construction company that built luxury casinos. Athena wandered into the bedroom, she was amazed, these Naesians really had this comfort thing down to an exact science. Then Athena saw it, it was a bathtub, and actual bathtub that could be filled with actually water. Athena walked over and said, " Computer, Bath, Hot?"
The tub suddenly filled with clear steaming water. Athena shed her clothes and almost dove into the tub. Athena sank beneath the water and slowly rose up. This was perfect, just this tub was worth risking her life for let alone the entire ship. Athena put her feet on the lip of the tub and relaxed, she knew things would be a lot different from now on.
Isaac and his squad cautiously pointed their flashlights down the next corridor. " It's blocked as well" said the sergeant.
" Damn, they must have known we were here and shut this entire sector off" said Isaac, " tech, can you get that computer up yet?"
" No sir" said the tech, " this entire sector seems to be out of power."
" Can't you use your backup power?" asked Isaac.
" No sir" said the tech, " this thing is totally new to me, I wouldn't know where even to plug my batteries in."
" Damn it" said Isaac, " all right, split into two man teams, I want this entire sector swept, look for hatches, doors, anything that could get us out of here and up to the bridge."
The men split into teams leaving Isaac to sit on a stool and ponder what to do next.
Eryn woke up, her head was throbbing like mad. Eryn laid as still as possible as she slowly assessed the situation. She had been taken captive by workers when they stole that massive ship. Eryn carefully looked about the room, she was in very comfortable quarters, the bed left like she was laying in warm air. Eryn found she was still fully clothed, but all her equipment was missing, she had no chance of contacting anyone now. Eryn slowly sat up and the light slowly raised up a bit. Eryn stood up and made her way to the door. Of course it was locked and Eryn had absolutely no idea how to force it open. Suddenly a figure slowly appeared in her room, Eryn's instincts took over and she grabbed the first object she could find which happened to be a vase on the end table and flung it hard at the figure. To Eryn's shock the vase went through her, " Please calm yourself Eryn" said the figure, " I am Starlight, the heart of this vessel. You are being held in this room for now, do not fear you shall be well looked after so please relax yourself and do not try to escape, it will only damage the room."
Eryn sighed, this really was a no win situation. Eryn knew she was going to die, they would probably try and force her to divulge information about the TUC and when they found out she was resistant they would probably rape her and through her out an airlock. Eryn looked at the bathroom, she was grimy, all day in those awful mines made her feel like a slug. Death or no death she was going to relax and face it at least clean. Eryn took her uniform off and walked into the bathroom. " Water?" asked Eryn.
" Hot or cold?" asked a voice.
" Hot" said Eryn.
Eryn watched as the tub filled with steaming hot water. Eryn slowly climbed in and said, " Jets?"
Suddenly the tub came alive with streams of water. Eryn smiled and leaned back, let them do their worst.
Ami and Starlight were wandering the ship, Ami was fascinated by everything about the ship. " The ship is made up fifteen decks in the forepart of the ship, ten as you travel aft" said Starlight, " which are currently cut off due to my lack of power."
" How do you get to the engines?" asked Ami.
" My maintenance and engineering systems are automated" said Starlight, " it will take a few days before I will have generated enough power to fully open those areas."
" How long were you inside the planet?" asked Ami.
" I do not know" said Starlight, " your calendars and the Naesians are radically different, and all my systems were put in standby mode."
" For an old ship you certainly are in good condition" said Ami.
" Sigma Draconis was chosen because of it dry atmosphere" said Starlight.
" Well I'm glad your former owners put you there" said Ami, " or we would have been stuck there until they next job came along."
Two space marines slowly walked down a dark hallway, " What is this 5th or 6th we've been down?" asked the first.
" 6th at least" said the second, " god why did we go into this ship?"
" Fuck if I know" said the first, " we're too stupid to run slower."
" No shit" said the second.
As the pair rounded the corner they heard something dragging on the pipes above them. They both lifted their rifles and slowly scanned the pipes with their lights. " You hear that?" asked the second.
" You think their critters in here?" asked the first.
" How? The fucking thing was sealed" said the second, " you think it is some sort of automated defense system?"
" I think you been reading too many novels" said the first, " why don't you suggest they are ghosts?"
" That is a possibility too" said second.
" Shut up" said the first.
The pair reached another sealed door, " Guess we get to try for number 7" said the first.
" Go ahead" said the second, " my stupid hud is flipping out again."
" No problem" said the first.
The first walked ahead, he had barely rounded the corner when he heard a loud crack and his friend screaming. He spun and raced around the corner and saw two creatures feasting on his still living friend. He leveled his rifle and started firing.
Isaac heard screams and rifle fire over his headset making him leap off the stool. " Teams sound off" he shouted.
He listened as all but one of his teams acknowledged. " All right all teams head for level three, find team 6, I want a status report every five minutes no matter what, I'm heading down there" he said.
Isaac grabbed his rifle and started for the third level.
Athena was blissfully asleep, this bed was amazing. This ship was really a little slice of heaven. Suddenly Athena felt a presence in the room. " I hate to bother you" said Starlight, " but my internal sensors are detecting weapons fire in the third section of the ship."
" What?" asked Athena.
" That section has no power" said Starlight, " but somehow someone is inside that section."
" Can you tell who?" asked Athena.
" There is no power, I only know that energy signatures are present in that area, their size makes me believe that it is from weapons fire" said Starlight.
" Get everybody up" said Athena.
" They are all up and waiting for you on the bridge" said Starlight, " you were the hardest to wake."
Athena blushed, " No need to be embarrassed" said Starlight, " one of my previous captains slept so hard I had to electrify his bed to wake him."
Athena climbed out of bed and pulled her clothes on before racing to the bridge. " What is going on?" asked Athena.
" We kept picking up these sporadic energy signatures" said Ami, staring into a display, some are pulses but there is also a continuous signal."
" That is a com channel" said Robert, " I recognize the peaks and valleys."
" Star, can you put it on the speakers?" asked Athena.
" Yes, it is echoing across my hull" said Starlight.
" This is team 2, shit fuck, whatever they are, shit, they are everywhere. Fuck it just killed Porkins! FUCK!!!" came a terrified voice over the speakers before dying out in a long scream and the sound of metal tearing and then bones crackling and something eating.
" What the fuck?" asked Jason.
" Could have some of the Marines gotten onboard?" asked Athena.
" It is possible" said Starlight, " many of my hatches are automated to detect humanoid brain waves, also some of my air intake valves were open, they are large enough to accommodate a human."
" But what the hell is happening?" asked Ami, " it sounded like something was eating him."
" I have nothing on board that would want to eat flesh let alone be able to do it" said Starlight, " it is possible that something from Sigma Draconis got in through the air intake valves."
" Tunnel Apes" said Jason.
" Poor bastards" said Robert.
" Let's just keep those doors locked and when we are able to pop the hatches and let space suck the entire area clean" said Ami.
" What are Tunnel Apes?" asked Starlight, " I am unfamiliar with this term."
" They are the natives of Sigma Draconis" said Athena, " when digging began under the planet surface we kept stumbling into these pre-dug tunnels every once an awhile. Then we began to loose digging teams and if they were found they were all be eaten. It took awhile but finally the marines hunted down one of the beasts. It was seven feet tall, covered in black hair and had giant teeth. They resembled a creature from our homeworld called the gorilla, so we named Tunnel Apes."
" They big, mean, and on the ship" said Jason, " gee and I was worried."
" Does this ship have small arms?" asked Robert.
" Yes the ship has a weapons locker" said Starlight, " but what can five of you do that several couldn't?"
" We get help" said Athena, " let's just hope the help wants to help."
