Astra Pt. 01

Grace shrugged, "That is the area they have for people looking for work. We needed to stop by there anyway."

They walked up to the second level and there were a hundred or more people in this area. It looked like they were being corralled here. He found one of the guards, "What do you have here?"

He looked at Jack, "This is the location where we keep people who cannot pay their fees to get off the station. We have a few extras because of the new ID cards. A few who are on the edge of crazy."

He looked around and spotted a girl who had an aura about her, "Tell me about the black-haired girl with the smoky grey eyes."

He smiled, "She showed up here about two months back and docked a small shuttle. She was underage for flying a shuttle. She turned 18 a few weeks ago. But by that point, the shuttle had been seized to cover fees.

She is in debt still because of her new mandatory ID card when she turned 18 and the food stores she has gotten since arriving."

Jack looked at him, "How much is she in debt?"

He looked at his pad, "500 TC's worth."

Jack nodded, "Clear her debt. Here is my account number."

The guard looked at Jack, "She was one of those who are borderline crazy. Talking about seeing aliens beyond the belt in sector 84."

Jack nodded, "I can deal with crazy."

The guy let Jack into the area but Jack waved the others back. He listened in on her mind. He heard two voices. *You have to choose soon. *

She shouted back in her mind. * I don't want to choose. *

She wore small black leather gloves but the one on her left was wrapped up in a scarf. She held a psi sword in her hands. The other voice called out to her, * Another is listening to our conversation. *

She looked around in a panic. He sent her a message, * I can talk to you about that choice. *

She jumped to her feet and active her sword. Jack drew his sword and activated it. She did not hold it steady or well. She was untrained. He did a few twists of the blade and came to a defensive stance. She shook her head, "I will kill you if you come closer."

Jack nodded, "I know you would attempt to but this is a defensive stance. Meant for blocking. Not attacking. Have you had any sword training? I started at the age of 9 in Japan."

She looked at him, "Tons of training."

He smiled, "None. Your stance is wrong. Your grip is wrong and the angle of your blade is wrong. You are lucky you have not stabbed yourself with it. I paid your outstanding balance to get you free so you can leave this station. No strings attached."

He stepped back and turned his sword off and put it away. "You might want to turn that off before the guards start target practice on you. You have only menaced me. Don't make it worse."

She grunted and turned her sword off a few male officers took her to the ground and the girl's sword went scurrying across the ground. He picked it up and walked over to a guard sergeant, "She only threatened me and I am not pressing charges."

He looked at me, "Concealed weapon charge."

He shook his head, "Laser swords are not considered concealed weapons. The fact that you could not identify this model is a different matter."

The sergeant looked at Jack, "We found no button to activate it when we checked it. We just assumed it was her "girl's best friend' when we saw it."

Jack nodded, "They are DNA encoded. Only the wielder can activate it. Very rare weapon. I only know of 3, counting hers. Release her, please. Grace, you are a lawyer. What are the options here?"

Grace looked over, "As she no longer has any financial restrictions they could, at their own expense, send her to Terra. To get her off the station if they feel she is a disruptive influence. Unless someone hires her for a crew."

He looked at the girl, * Like you, I was not asked about the modification that was done. Unlike you I know the answers you seek about what it all means. *

He held out her sword to her, "Dinner with the ladies and I, on me of course. We can talk. If you want to join my crew we can see where you would like to start. I own the Excalibur. I am Jack Travus."

She looked over, "That is your ship?"

He nodded at her. She took her weapon and nodded, "Dinner and we can see about the rest."

He looked at her, "Name?"

She looked at him, "Call me Ash." She went further as he continued to look at her. "Ashly Williams."

The sergeant was still upset. "I still need to keep an eye on her, in case she does not take you up on your offer."

Jack smiled at the guard, "Name?"

He looked over, "Sergeant Jake Gunther."

He heard Astra, "Running her name. The girl they had no record of before her arrival and she died 2 weeks from today in a sword fight. A very good candidate. Jake is in a 3-way relationship with 2 other male guards on the station. Including the one who wanted to arrest you."

Jack smiled, "She does not take me up on my offer I will book her passage off the station. Your services are not required or desired."

They went to walk out and a couple was in another holding area separate from the others. He walked over, "Is there an issue?"

The man spoke, "We are both looking for work. I am Tim Lopez and this is my wife Linda. I am a mechanic and she is a cook."

Jack looked at him, "Why are you separated from the others?"

He sighed, "They intend to send us to a debtor's prison. We would not be together if that happened."

Astra chimed in, "Both of them die within a month of each other eighteen years from now in those prisons."

He looked over the extensive file she sent him. He had no military service because of a juvenile criminal record. She served her two years as a cook. Jack looked at him, "You ever worked on a starship engine, power cores, or big navigational computer arrays?"

He shook his head, "I have not been afforded those opportunities. I have worked on hovercraft, gravity sled's loaders at starbases, cranes, and I am willing to learn."

He looked at Linda, "What kind of things can you cook?"

She smiled, "I am no French cook. But I do know a wide range of American food and Asian food."

He turned his head, "Astra can we seal bulkheads on decks 1, 2 and 4-6 while leaving the lifts operational?"

She popped up on his vid display, "Yes we can. They are sealed for you." He looked at her, "Get into your uniform and meet these two at the hatch. Get them settled in on deck 3."

The guard looked at Jack, "They owe 33,854 TCs."

He looked at the guard, "I just gave you my account number. Clear it. Speaking of which, give me a total for everyone else you have corralled here."

He ran it through and Jack signed the transaction. He ran it through, 104,892 TCs. Jack nodded, "Clear all of their accounts. And get them 500 TC's to book passage planet side if they wish.

Tim, I am bringing you on as an engineering apprentice and your wife as head cook. She is the only cook." They laughed and shook his hand. "Astra will get you settled. "Astra if you get them started on stocking the pantry from the shipment, we got in the cargo hold 7. Get the 2 of them to the galley on deck 2 when the time comes.

The exercise equipment goes to deck 3, while the dojo equipment goes to deck 2. They should be in separate containers." He looked at Tim, "She can shutoff gravity plating on deck 7 to allow you to get the sub-containers out easier. Just secure them to the floor Start with the frozen container and get that stored and the refrigerated container and get that stored.

Astra, I want enough coffee on deck 1 and 2 for a month. Figure 30-40 cups a day plus what anyone else would drink. Stock deck 3 first, put any excess into the pantry on deck 2, including the extra coffee and half of my mead."

Astra laughed, "Finally getting your coffee."

He looked at them, "We ran out. I was a bit irritable. Plan breakfast for 10 people tomorrow. At around 0830 on Deck 3 galley. You 2 get going. We have a dinner date this evening. Feel free to fix yourself something to eat. Split a bottle of my mead and you will both be feeling better."

They went to an Asian restaurant and it was early. He looked at the man, "Table for 6 please."

He nodded, "Follow me." It was earlier in the evening that the normal dinner crowd so getting a table was not a problem. They got a table with Ash to his left and Sprits to his right. He introduced the other ladies their positions on the ships and the fact that they all agreed to marry him. Ash chuckled, "What is he like some kind of sex maniac?"

The four ladies smiled and nodded. Ash looked at Jack, "Seriously?"

He nodded, "Diagnosed Sex addiction. I can go at it 12-24 times a day, every day."

Ash looked at Jack, "This because of your change?"

He thought to her, * Discussing that out in the open is dangerous. But no. *

He shook his head, "No, I have a desensitizes cock and over-productive testis. The ladies talked about adding 1 or 2 more to the group to keep from getting worn out by me."

Ash looked at me, "You are talking about me?"

He shrugged, "All of my crew are married couples or getting married to me. I have an employer who financed the ship and he set those requirements. My wives and family or married couples only. All my wives or wives to be had to sign non-disclosure agreements.

No prenups, even though I have billions of credits now. With billions more coming as soon as I address the Power Core Manufacture deal tomorrow. That will come in around 80-130 billion credits before taxes. Depending on what I decide to do there. Astra ran a background check on you before we left the second floor.

I have an implant so she can contact me directly. The holo-vid was for theatrics on her part. Sprits and I will get married in a couple of days. What did I say I was looking for to round out the crew?"

She smiled, "A Security Chief or another pilot."

He looked at Ash, "I asked about you Ash before approaching you. I knew about your shuttle and getting caught up in Terran finances, charging you for everything. I cleared your debt before talking to you. Your very easy on the eyes and we have a lot in common. I think you would be a good fit. Pun intended."

The ladies laughed at him. "I do not intend to stay in Terran space forever. I am working on the pieces needed to aid people to establish other colonies. Tau Ceti is where I am looking to go when I find a terraforming colony group going, I will travel with them giving them my aid and have the machinery and mining equipment to get supplies en route in case there are any breakdowns.

That was why I tested the Atmospheric Mining Rig. I put the plans for better power cores out there to build a reputation and to build capital to make improvements when and where needed. I have the fastest ship in the system and people do not know it. It is equipped with a next-generation FTL drive that is faster than the ones being produced today."

Everyone ate until they were full. Ash had 3 meals and a stack of egg rolls. Jack followed suit with Ash. An alarm went off on Holly's watch and she smiled, "My piece on you is airing in just a minute. She pulled it up on her Hollo-vid display and enlarged it.

She sat there smiling, "Good evening everyone. This is Holly Prescott and I have a big story for all of you from Terra-3 space station. Meet Jack Travus. A man who went from obscurity to a billionaire overnight."

She ran her interview with him and surprisingly covered everything from the Excalibur, Sex addiction, semen, and searching for wives. She wrapped up her interview.

"His flirtatious exchanges with me were genuine. Also, with my camerawoman Sprits Martina. We both confirmed first hand that he was not lying about the sex addiction and he might be able to handle 10 to 12 wives. 2 of them will be Sprits and I as we leave the network to join him in his endeavor."

Jack groaned, "I am afraid to ask. Astra how many calls have I gotten?"

She responded, "137,843...wait... 259,684, Sorry 615,924 and it is holding steady there as I just got notified that the station's communication array crashed from the call load. I also got one from the Sperm Exchange letting us know they would gladly take on all the samples we had on hand. A courier will be arriving shortly."

He looked at Holly, "Something we both have in common now, lots of fans. We better get back to the ship."

He looked at the Sergeant hovering at the door, "You might want to alert riot control. Things will get interesting on Pylon 17."

He nodded, "She puts that on the news. I can only imagine the craziness going on down there. I will call it in."

They made it halfway down the stairs and Ash looked over, "I want more answers before agreeing to anything."

He nodded, "Ladies we will divide and conquer when we get back on the ship. Sprits you are with Ash and I. We will go to deck 4 and the other ladies can go to my quarters where they can talk until I deal with Ash's concerns."

The Sergeant looked over, "They want you to disembark as soon as possible. Preferably away from the planet."

Jack laughed, "Tell them I still have time on my dock fees and to assign me a different birth for when I return in the morning." He called it in and looked back over, "As long as you are away for a while. They would prefer not to dock your ship."

Grace looked over, "Let them know I represent Mr. Travus on all legal matters and if there is a legal issue then they need to make me aware. Else their actions will find them before a magistrate."

The Sergeant called in Grace's comment and then looked back, "They are more than happy to take you up on your offer to take your ship out for the evening. I told them I off shifted as of half an hour ago and I would ensure you departed. They thanked me."

The ladies laughed. Until they got to pylon 17 and the security teams had to push back the crowd to let them get to the ship.

Jack got the door open and the ladies aboard. "Astra, internal sensor scan. Check for any unauthorized people."

Astra responded, "Nobody got in. The courier arrived and left before you got here and the crowd got too large. We sent 147 more samples to them. They told me to let them know when we had more as they were getting flooded with calls."

He took the lift to the bridge, "Tower, Excalibur, requesting permission to depart."

Tower responded, "Clamps released you are cleared to depart. He released his docking clamps, and edged the ship out, "Tower request clear path on a 90 degree up tilt from my present heading and permission to exceed port speed."

He looked at everyone, "Grab a seat and buckle in. This is the captain, ensure you are secured in a chair or strapped to a bed."

He cleared the docking area and waited for them to respond. After 5 minutes he sighed, "Time to get their attention." He brought it to a stop and activated 6 retro thrusters caused the ship to spin on two axes and spinning in a barrel roll. He had not moved location but he got the ship spinning incredibly fast.

He looked over at Ash, "Take a seat at the pilot station. Answer me, how do you get out of this spin?"

She looked back over, "You fired six thrusters. Firing the other six counter thrusters would counteract the spin." He nodded, "But choose two and only two corresponding thrusters and stop one spin at a time.

We want the ship to be pointed 90 degrees up, facing direction with the bottom of the ship toward the station. The inertial dampers held at that speed. We have them running at 138% right now."

The tower finally contacted them, "Excalibur what are you doing?"

Jack chuckled, "The is an old hollo-vid called 'The Last Starfighter.' When I took my flight training my instructor set me in this configuration. Then had me straighten out the craft. It is called a 'death blossom' maneuver.

As I am still waiting on my request for a clear lane at a 90-degree up-angle and permission to exceed port speed I took the opportunity to start training a new pilot."

Jack thought he heard the guy laugh and someone slapped him. The tower contacted him back, "This is senior controller Howards. Please regain control of your craft and exit our space in an orderly fashion."

Jack called out, "Tower, this is Excalibur. The only thing I agreed to do was move the ship away from the station. I have complied with that request. The craft is spinning but under control. It has never been out of control. If you wish for us to exit the area, as we have no flight plan filed, we could return to our dock instead."

Ash got the ship to where it was only spinning wing-over-wing and slowed that down.

The original controller came back, "Excalibur, the path is cleared permission granted."

He looked at Ash, "Is the bottom of the craft facing the Starbase?"

She nodded. "Start the wing over spin again until we are a blur. Then punch full speed." She smiled at this. "Yes, Astra I meant full speed."

Ash called out, "Engaging full speed!"

The ship spiraled up and away at twice normal speed. The sensor map showed it was clear. He looked at Ash, "Set autopilot." He looked back at the ladies, "Deck 2 ladies so you can 'talk.' Ash and I are going to Deck 4. Astra, alert me if anything gets too close to us."

Astra responded, "Flight control is going nuts back at the station. They are getting all kinds of inquiries from the military and the news about how we were moving so fast. The incident just hit the news as they were reporting on the riot at the Starbase.

Everyone stopped when they saw your ship spinning. They were wondering what you were going to do next. Then you spun it again and launched it. This will be remembered in the future."

He looked at Ash, "How does it feel to fly the fastest ship in the system and be the first one to take it to full power?"

She shook her head, "You are crazy. But I liked how you played with them."

They got to deck 4 and she looked at him, "Why come here?"

He pointed, "Medical. We can see what the Drakor did to you. You can tell me about your encounter."

She looked at Jack, "You know who they are?"

He nodded, "Never met one, but I know who they are."

She sighed as she got up on the table, "Core, give me a complete body scan on Ashly Williams and display it to us." The computer put it up and they looked it over, "Left hand and foot." She looked down, "How bad is yours? He pointed up, "Show my image next to hers."

She looked at it and gasped, "So alien-looking."

He walked around and grabbed her left hand and removed her glove. She looked away from it and He pointed back, "Watch." He pulled the bracelet off that he carried and pressed the button. She watched as it sprayed on the skin over her hand. She looked at a new left hand.

She took her shoe off and tried her foot. It fixed the skin over her foot, even doing the nails on both.

She looked at Jack, "What is this?"

He looked at her, "It is a dermal regenerator It took skin cells from your arm and processed the extent of the injury. If your hand had a burn injury it would put skin over it.

Same with your foot. A cut would take cells from either side and fix the cut so it was gone. Now your story?"

She looked at him, "My father and I were traveling through the asteroid belt and we got hit by a micro meteor shower. We were both in suits but it punched through the shields, armor, the canopy, and the cockpit. It took off my hand and foot.

My suit sealed the limbs. Another one killed my father. I sent a distress call and must have blacked out. When I came too there were three of them standing, they spoke to my mind. Told me I would have a choice to make. Everything is a choice. There was a box next to my seat. He called out, 'Choose.'

I then saw one of those weapons floating in the air and they said again 'choose.' The one flew into his hand and activated. I got scared and reached out. One flew up and came alive. They responded. 'turn sword off.' I thought 'how do I do that?' and it went off. They told me 'Ship repaired; the other passenger was destroyed. Go home until you make your choice; to join them or not.'"