Voyages Ch. 01

"All hands, brace for maneuvering." Sallybot danced through the windrows of bodies thrown about with emergency steerage, past the green LightPaint(tm) fuck you and onto the bridge where she placed him in the Captains chair and rushed away to deliver wiper meds to Blynd, China, and Nonny.

"I have the con." He buckled in. "Klaxon off, decrease playlist volume by 50%." He strapped into the chair and reached for the coffee that came up, sipping with a sigh and focusing his attention on their situation as the ship surged first one direction and then another in heavy acceleration.

WARNING

LANDING FORBIDDEN flashed bright red.

"23:48:15, 23:48:14, 23:48:13..."

"Mute that one too." Again the survey countdown returned to the view port corner where it was seen last, just under the Assholes transmission. "Tactical." A 3D representation Of their position was shown along with a maze of vector lines that shifted as SALLY turned or feinted out of the range of the planetary cruisers. "Battle stations report."

"Engineering manned and ready. I managed to save most of the stuff that was distilling so if there's any need of medicinal alcohol we have plenty." 'Wonderful,' Harry muttered, signaling for SALLY to switch coms.

"Starboard weaps manned Harry old boy." Blynd intoned. "Can I get an Intern down here with coffee or a beer?" SALLY dispatched an Intern from his galley battle station to starboard gunners with a FreeFall(tm) bulb of coffee while Harry gestured for the next connections.

"Port weapons womaned and ready. I'm all green here Toi. I need a target. Cocked and locked Captain. If you just get me a little closer to those.." Harry texted a thumbs up sign back to Nonny and waved for SALLY to allow the last report to be transmitted.

"Hanger Bay," Chyna yelled, downing his capsule and sipping the last of the water from Sallybot's reservoirs that left her flat chested. The rumble and call of many voices could be heard as crewmembers suited up in the MKVII Banger(tm) combat suits liberated from a Royal Navy depot on the far side of Antares. "Estimated time of readiness..." He looked at the jumble of shuttles thrown about during the confrontation, then at the two metric ton rated Sallybot and smiled. "...15 minutes."

Harry listened to the excited chatter of voices and the screech of metal on metal emanating from the live com channel, shook his head, and closed the voice circuit between the bridge and hanger bay.

"Ship wide com SALLY." he looked at the ships chronometer showing 00:44:15, just short of one AM. The bosons whistle sounded.

"Good morning shipmates. We're out of any immediate danger. I'm relaxing General Quarters to a heightened state of awareness. Midrats will be served in the galley shortly, If you have not taken your wiper meds do so now before we engage the enemy. Second watch report for duty as soon as possible. Any injured in our rough welcome, however slightly please report immediately to the AutoDoc(tm) or face a half beer ration fine. Commanders to the galley as you are relieved. Hoist the Jolly Roger. Aaaaarrrrrrr!"

Outside the ship, the scuffed metal along the sides shimmered, changing PlasSteel(tm) grey to matte black; the Hoochie Mama glared down at the planet from the edge of its westward falling shadow, sun rebounding off the re-tasked Impervious(tm) viewport. To the Assholes below it was if a new star had suddenly formed in their night falling sky.

Four faint skull and crossbones grew in intensity, long bones forming a lattice, interspersing black and white in equal portions of locked graphics; the cannon muzzles lay hidden in the nose holes. The image wavered in gentle fish fin'd motions like some poisonous predator in some space like sea.

15:58:15, 15:58:14, 15:58:13... SALLY watched the planet slowly roll, noting every feature, marking every planetary defense and supermarket.

"Time for me to get dressed I think, and eat." The confrontation had become something of a stand off as the Asshole vessels were not able to out maneuver the Hoochie Mama and dared not test the limits of its armaments.

"Go, Captain sweetie. (kiss sound) I've got things here, orders?"

"Inform me if any unusual circumstances occur; step softly SALLY until we get the crew squared away. You have the con."

The galley was filled with Interns, some dressed the same as him, in skin and nothing else. Harry got in line and shuffled forward with the crew. Someone patted his fanny but he never bothered to look, just collected his tray, turned and found the nearest table with an empty seat.

They shoved aside to allow a little more room, greeting and plying Toi Harry with questions. All were excited, but one, looking frightened and apprehensive, caught his eye; he searched his mind for a name. Brigjid? He expected she'd be gone after next liberty, vanishing into a safer circumstance, somewhere employment was plentiful and danger unheard of. Too bad, she was conscientious and a hard worker. He gave her an extra smile, turned again to animated conversation at the table with an unconcerned face, joking at the absurdity of Assholes ever damaging the Hoochie Mama.

"Sup Toi boy?" Blynd wiggled in to the table opposite Harry as the rapt diners shifted again, some looking at their empty trays and the time, holding on for those last moments of calm command presence. "So, how'd ju like the wake up call ther bro?" He shoveled a bite of AlwaysFresh(tm) eggs and began telling the story of his screaming trip across ship to his battle station.

"That was you?" Harry laughed, looking up as combat armored crewmembers exited from the hanger bay lift and began clomping toward the serving line. Chyna skipped to the head of the line followed closely by Nonny, talking fast and gesturing at his back. Brigjid blanched and rushed away; a few others mistaking her action as duty, rose and reported for their watch.

Chyna sat beside Blynd, Nonny beside Harry, still bitching about the rough treatment in the corridors as they raced to their GQ stations. Maestro took a seat and waited while an intern set his pre ordered meal in front of him, then carried Harry's empty tray away to be cleaned.

"And you," She began in a gathering diatribe, releasing abuse and contempt for the less than chivalrous way he had pushed past without an excuse me or make way call. Chyna laughed and the sound of her RoughShod(tm) boot was heard striking the leg of his combat suit.

"Hee, he, he, careful you don hurt your foot there Nonny girl."

"Sucks to be you sis." Maestro said, then stuffed an entire jelly biscuit into his mouth and chewed while watching her rage mottled face.

"Guy's," Harry interrupted, leaning forward, gathering their eyes with his twinkling, amused ones, I've got a plan." He looked aside at Nonny adding, "and something to do with your misplaced anger."

He left them laughing as they walked to the hanger bay to make preparations, speculating on the Assholes anger and making boasts as to which one would make them pay the worst. Sallybot fell in to step beside him as he made his way to the Captains stateroom.

"Shall I carry you back to bed Captain sweetie?" SALLY asked matching his stride and taking an arm gently, lightly bouncing a hip off his.

"Ah hahaha, what a mad morning SALLY. Thank you, but all I want to do is walk the last 10 meters to my room, shower, and..." He stopped talking and walking, thinking about what the oncoming hours would bring. "Charge the generators up to stand by, pass the word that wiper messages will be accepted for transmission in one hour.

"All hands, outbound posts in one hour, 00:59:59, 00:59:58..." Harry put a hand on his door meaning to enter, Sallybot put hers out and said, "allow me," pushing in, turning to watch his face at the view of a tear stained, nude Brigjid kneeling in the middle of his bed. "Surprise." Sallybot said as the Intern began a sobbing proposition to the abashed face of the Captain of the Hoochie Mama. He let her wind down to silence and spoke.

"Oh Bridjid, I can't do what you are asking. There's a woman waiting for me to return from my voyages. I'm her's alone."

"But you and her," she said, indicating Sallybot, shaking her head in confusion.

"Sallybot's just a machine that allows me to protect my sanity so far away from Earth fall. I could never love it."

Somewhere in the mass of circuits and chips and memory storage, an electronic sigh escaped from SALLY. Brigjid began to sob again, calling herself a fool and trying to gather strewn clothing.

"But I can do this, SALLY." The Sallybot went to her, holding her protesting body in inescapable arms and eventually produced gasps of pleasure as lips and fingers performed in ways that no human could equal. Harry went to his desk with a smile and began typing out a letter for transmission.

My darling Jannie

Here I am once again sending my love just before I step into danger in another distant corner of the universe, missing you and wishing that we were together to share this moment of quiet before things unfold on the morrow...

Brigjid screamed in the throes of orgasm behind him and he paused gathering his thoughts once more.

I hope this letter finds you, as well and content as you possibly can be without me by your side, with bright days, sunshine and smiles, the promise of tomorrow, sweet water if you thirst and my love to keep you warm in the night until I return in failure or success.

He leaned back, trying to recall the time of year on Earth as Brigjid worked her way into another vocal release. In the end he came up blank, not knowing what season ruled or slipped away.

If I should die, he began and backspaced, starting over.

Tell the boys I said hello, give Ma'am a kiss for me. I'll catch up on our correspondence next time we reach a more civilized portion of this arm of the galaxy.

I love you Ku XXX

Your Mister

He pressed send; his letter was sent to the Royal Mail at New Lands End, prior to being routed further, then he turned again to the bed where a sweat sheened Brigjid lay limp atop the covers as Sallybot traced fingers lightly over her skin.

"Again," Harry said, watching as lips descended to a nipple and fingers slid down the neatly trimmed bush, eliciting weak sounds of protest that changed to exhausted sighs of pleasure. He went to the shower and used all his hot water ration for the following day. When he returned they were gone, the coverlet was turned down and the lights dimmed; he crawled under and dreamed of June in London.

***

In control room A, emplacement 412 of the Pluger(tm) B rated planetary defense cannon, a technician watched a screen bearing the malevolent image of the intruder that had failed to run away or be destroyed in the first few moments of reentry as so many others had; now it lay just out of firing solution. He watched the racing numbers of the range meter and willed it to drop, just 100 meters, as his station moved toward closest approach.

Chyna walked down the lines of 64 MKVII Banger(tm) suited Intern's and three Toi's inspecting the fittings of the sealed combat gear. He stopped in front of Nonny, covered with extra weapons and picked her up and shook her.

"You rattle; fix that." He switched off her com link to forestall any objection and stepped in front of Blynd, punched him in the breastplate, then smiled as he stood, stock still, looking down where the gauntlet had struck.

"Hey, don do that you goof." Chyna looked at Maestro, staring back at him with don't fuck with me eyes, turned and took his place beside them and began addressing the drop team.

"You all know what to do from the simulations; any additional information will appear on your heads up display as needed or warranted." His eyes glanced up Where SALLY's survey countdown changed in one second increments as it neared zero. "Board your craft. Drops begin in less than 30 minuets. Good luck and have fun."

68 combat suits clambered aboard 16 Standard(tm) shuttles parked Four deep and four wide. The hanger bay descended into darkness and doors opened to space.

Harry sat in his Captains chair eating a bacon sandwich with Coleman's(tm), ignoring the spot of mustard on the resplendent uniform that he wore because there were no other selections offered that morning. He had eschewed the traditional officers cover and instead knotted a frayed bandana around his head.

"Drop team standing by Toi Harry."

"Very well, Chyna, coming up on first mark in fifteen."

The tech leaned closer as his screen degraded with the x rays, gamma rays, charged particles and even neutrinos reflecting from the Impervious(tm) view port of the ship above obscuring it from the planet side visual instruments in a haze of reflected plasma. The range meter dipped to 99, then, 98; his finger hovered over the fire button.

"Survey completion in 00:00:03, 00:00:02, 00:00:01. Survey complete."

"Bring cannon on line, prepare for salvos. Inform the crew SALLY; fire as you bear."

"All hands, prepare for continuous fire." Outside the ship four out facing muzzles rotated planet ward and began stitching every gun emplacement, radar facility, power station and military compound that came in range as the planet rolled under precise fire, leaving a trail of glowing craters, starting with gun 412, traveling slowly eastward over the lightless night side of the planet.

"First Megamart in 00:00:10, 00:00:09, 00:00:08... Team Maestro prepare to drop."

"Why does he get to drop first Harry? I'm green, cocked and locked, ready to..." He switched circuits, isolating her com line.

"You can be first next time Nonny, now clam up. I'm busy here."

In the hanger bay, four Standard(tm) shuttles released MagLocks(tm) and eased into space.

"Drop, Team Nonny, prepare for deployment." All were released in irregular intervals toward very specific targets. Three teams dropped with empty or near empty cargo bays and the forth carried a very special delivery.

Chyna's team dropped last and the Hoochie Mama moved eastward at an increased rate of speed, destroying any of the Asshole's ships that dared rise toward the marauder's in the process of reducing the planet to pre industrial status.

WARNING!

LANDING FORBIDDEN! flickered on the view port and vanished as the transmitting station went up in a flash of incandescence.

Maestro's team set down in a precise square around the Megamart, forced the grocery side docks with the gentle persuasion of combat rated weapons and searched the darkened reefers of the store.

"Eu 'fucking' reka, in here boys." They cleaned it out and started on the meat locker, filling the four shuttles until there was barely room for all to enter again, leaving within an hour of landing. "Maestro is 'outie'." he transmitted, as the shuttles moved up to meet the Hoochie Mama as it completed the first pass and began taking out secondary objectives.

Nonny's target was a giant warehouse filled with canned and bottled, and kegged beverages. Three of the shuttles were filled with premium beer and the forth half full of Pepsi(tm) when Blynd called.

"I just landed, foolishly removing tha landing skids on impact. Hmm, fuel resivor damaged, solar aray malfuctn, Comunication console smashed wen my helmt bounce off it, Gdrives are shot, hover engines online but unable to produce thrust. Ok so I can just hover and get no where, as always the story of my life, hovering nowhere."

"Doo! Thr seems ta be some sort of police station..." The rest of the transmission was lost in the thunder of battle noise.

"Shit!" Blynd's team was the one tasked with changing out the ROM boards at the planets central computer systems while power was disrupted. "SALLY find out where team Blynd is." The view port changed into a representation of the planet; multi-colored icons covered its surface. Harry studied the screen.

"The blinking green one is Blynd's position; the three to the north the rest of the team at the objective."

"Connect me to his team. Hoochie Mama calling team Blynd, reply."

"This is Henry, Toi Harry. We're not sure where Blynd is, suddenly he was just gone; we heard his last transmission, but without instructions to the contrary we went ahead following the mission parameters." Cool head, Harry thought, continuing the interrogation.

"How many crew members with you, and can you give me a time of completion?"

"Oh all of them are here; no one wanted to ride with Blynd after ..." He went on to describe events at last planet fall and a piece of dodgy piloting between the islands there. Harry listened with half an ear, then closing the com.

"Give me a closer view of Blynds position." The screen changed in magnification. What's that," he said pointing to a dark patch next to a meandering brown line.

"That's Emptied Bowel Swamp, next to the Shit River, Captain."

"And this dark line leading up towards Blynds's location?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"Shit Creek, Captain sweetie, (kiss sound) what do you have in mind?"

"It all depends on getting a message through to Blynd. Give me the tightest view of his position you can." The screen changed instantly to a giant PlasSteel(tm) rivet. Harry sighed. "Back out in ten meter increments with a one second pause between each until I tell you to stop." The screen clicked outward.

"Stop, go back one." Blynd's Standard(tm) shuttle hovered at the edge of a paved area taking heavy fire. "Mark Assholes in red, out five screens." A line of red showed above the green dot of Blynd's position up Shit Creek. A plan began in Harry's mind.

"Send this to Blynd, rotate exit away from Assholes and cut your power, then stand by for Go then run as fast as you can down creek. Continue until you get conformation."

"Chyna and Nonny are hailing the ship. I gave them a stand by message. Both are inbound to Blynd and their teams have already 'outied' they are operating independently at this time Captain." An orange glow briefly touched one corner of the screen and faded out. "Team Blynd reports mission accomplished, standing by.

"What was that glow? Send them back to Nonny's target, nothing but kegs. Bug out as soon as loaded."

"That was Chyna's target, the bunker system where the warning was sent to the transmitter. Blynds Standard(tm) shuttle has settled. Team Blynd sends Aye."

"Slave this screen to Chyna and Nonny's. Stylus/Yellow," he said extending a finger, "Open com." He began drawing and talking. "Listen guys; Nonny I want you to come to this point unseen and wait for Blynd. Chyna move here near the building and begin firing as soon as we're ready, confirm."

"I'm five minutes out, diverting over the Shit River, coming in real stealthy. The fog is really bad down here, think its etching my view port. Aye Cap."

"Aye, I'm eight minutes out, Toi Harry, accelerating."

"Both of you go green when on station. Nonny, how's my Pepsi's?"

"Never got a chance to finish, last couple cases got thrown in, mite be a little breakage. I'm green Toi. I can see the fire fight from here. I'm going to meet him half way."

"No Nonny!"

"Green," Chyna announced.

"Fire," Harry shouted. "Now Blynd, Now! Go, go, go."

The Assholes were surprised by the attack from the rear as Chyna began firing a SmithBlaster(tm) long rifle and firing shoulder mounted Griffin(tm) grenade launchers. He was out of range but it was enough to cause them to turn and duck. The shuttles exit ramp dropped and Blynd staggered out, falling and then struggling deeper into the morass of Emptied Bowel swamp.

"I see him," Nonny yelled. "He's pretty shot up." She slogged toward the falling, staggering shipmate making his way as far and as fast as possible. She got to him, put a shoulder under his arm and began helping him back to her shuttle. They got there, covered in gooey sludge except for the Impervious(tm) view ports of the MKVII Banger(tm) combat suits; the Assholes spotted them and began firing from beside Blynd's damaged shuttle.