Captain Emrah Jackson Ch. 23

Berta had once offered me a chance to join her pirate crew when I was fighting in the gladiator arena. I had turned her down, but when she found me in the detention facility, I happily accepted. It had taken a large bribe, but a figure not too different to the one that she would have had to pay to have me released from the arena. She told me that she often recruited from the prison, and was regularly informed of new inmates. She had been surprised when my name was given to her.

I was a mess though, pretty much at rock bottom. She could see that, but with my UEN training, she knew I had potential. I would be signing a one-year contract. It was simple, if I broke it, a large bounty would be placed on my head. I knew deep down I would happily serve a year after she had rescued me from Ferrin. I was very much in her debt.

She ran a clean ship which meant no drugs, and that included wax. Before I could start I would have to detox and clear my addiction to that stuff. It was going to take place at a small clinic on Ferrin, one than solely catered to pirates. It would take a month of suffering, but it needed to happen, and I was glad I didn't have to do it in some alley on Ferrin.

She had assumed that I had been an officer, and that was all. The truth was that I had been a captain. The deaging surgery I'd been given had knocked twenty years off my age.

She told me she suspected something like that, as I had fought with much more experience that someone of my age in the arena.

"It also alters my offer somewhat," she said.

"How so?"

"Well, someone with your experience deserves a much more senior role," she said, then asked how I would feel about taking the role of second in command.

I had to tell her that I had no experience with pirates. She argued her case, and thought that I would find the work challenging, but manageable.

She seemed pleased with that arrangement, and the more she talked about her ship the more I realised why. Order was something that pirate vessels always had problems with. A life of criminality didn't attract the most dedicated and conscientious of people. With my experience I could bring some sort of order to her crew.

"They aren't a bad bunch, really" she said, with a sly smile. Her crew was entirely made up of females. She'd had male crew mates in the past, but she told me that all that they ever wanted to do was fill the ship with pleasure girls.

One thing that I made clear was that I would not be involved in the slave trade, either dealing or selling people into bondage. She assured me that they were not slavers. They robbed, kidnapped, but never dealt in human flesh. She then told me her life story. It seemed she was somewhat of pirate royalty as her father and his father before him had been experienced and notorious pirates. She had a strong code and morals, even if they didn't gel with what most people thought of as right and wrong.

When we arrived at the clinic I was told about the detox, it was going to be quite intensive and part of it would mean going into an induced coma. It was the only way to speed up the process. As the doctor examined me he commented on the surgery I'd had done. He asked me about the process, and I told him and Berta that I wasn't really sure, and that it had been done against my will. It was then I got an offer that I could hardly refuse. Berta said she would pay for it to all be reversed. It was something I wanted, but had never had the opportunity to do. The doctor I knew on Alpha Girrad didn't have the equipment or skill to perform the procedure, but this clinic had all the necessary gear. It was costly and something that would be performed while I was unconscious, but Berta told me that she would offset the payment with any future earnings. She asked if I was sure. Most people would have enjoyed their new youthful looks, but as I had told her, it was all done against my will. My mind was made up, and I told them I wanted to look like I was supposed to. Berta agreed, suggesting that if I was going to be her second in command it was maybe better that I look like my real age than a girl much younger.

With all the decided Berta told me she would return and take me to her ship. I thanked her again for her kindness. She assured me that I would be earning it all back for her.

*********

I awoke with a groggy feeling. My face and body felt numb, but my mind was clear. It felt sharp, sharper than it had done in a long time. A nurse was at my bedside, and told me to take it easy. I asked her about the detox.

"You were very sick, Emrah. If you'd have tried to go cold turkey, you would have died. You were barely hanging on as it was."

She assured me that all the wax had been flushed from my system, and what ever future cravings would only be in my head.

"You might feel stiffness from time to time," she said, in a relaxed tone.

I inquired about the rest of the surgery, she gestured to a mirror on the wall, and told me I could take a look if I wanted.

My heart started to race as I looked at my reflection. What I saw wasn't me. The reflection staring back at me felt like a long forgotten memory. I was not the girl in her early twenties that Orton had transformed me into, but the woman in her early forties I really was. I had been every mans fantasy, and now I was back to my prim and proper self.

Looking back at me was Captain Emrah Jackson. Attractive, but I was often described as having a superior look that put many people off me. Everything was as I remembered it though, all the way down to the slight crows feet at the corners of my eyes. My hair was the same dark brown color as it had been when I commanded my own ship. It hung loosely at my shoulders. I ran my hands through it, feeling it in between my fingers.

"Without any visual guides, we had to map everything from your DNA. Everything is back to its natural state." she said, happily.

"It's just so strange," I said, still staring at my face. Seeing myself again brought all my memories back to the surface. I wasn't looking at a slave, or a pirate, I was looking at an officer in the UEN. That's who I was. A sudden regret filled me. I had given up on Ferrin, let myself get addicted to that wax, and then got exploited in that pleasure house because of it. The regret soon faded and was replaced by anger, at those who took advantage of me, and more especially at myself.

As I looked down at my body I saw that my breasts were the same size as before. It was for the reason of vanity that I had instructed the surgeon to leave them as they were. I had grown used to them and decided I preferred a larger bosom. It was something I had always considered though but breast enhancement in the UEN gave out the wrong impression, especially to the more career minded officer.

From now on men wouldn't see me as a naive little girl, but as the mature experienced woman I really was. This is how it always should have been. Berta had been right, if I was to command respect amongst her crew, it was better that I looked the part.

I dressed, and it wasn't long before Berta arrived to collect me.

"Wow," she said, as she entered the medical bay. "Now that looks like a Captain from the UEN."

"Not exactly the sex kitten you signed up, am I?"

"Like I said, I am after some discipline, and you look like you wouldn't take any shit from anyone."

It was a nice compliment. I was going to be with the woman for a year. A year working as a pirate. I owed Berta everything. She had saved my life, and I had no doubts about that. A year out of my life was a very small price in return for what she had given me. Besides, she told me that once the year was up I would most likely sign a new contract, especially when I got used to the money. I wasn't so sure about that, though.

Before we left we had a long talk. I told her everything. Form my years in the UEN, to the loss of my ship. My slave life with Orton, the time when I was known as Cara, and even Delphine and Red Moon. Finally, I told her about Talia's betrayal, and my stint on Ferrin as a prostitute. I doubted many others knew my whole tale as well as she did now. Telling her about Talia was the hardest part, and the story about watching Dex die brought tears to my eyes. It was the first time I had even spoken about it to anyone, and the wound felt as fresh as it ever did.

I asked her about Talia, and if she had ever met her, both of being pirates after all. The only thing she said was that she had heard stories about her, and left it at that. I sensed there was more she could tell me.

**********

The ship I was on which was knows as the Siren's Kiss was already in deep space. I could see the stars from my window streaking passed. My room was spacious and located on the top deck of the ship next to Berta's and opposite the command bridge.

"Are you ready to start your new life," Berta said, as she stood in my doorway. She was a large woman, who always wore a garish patchwork outfit. She smiled a lot though which softened her intimidating presence. She was somewhat shorter than me, but with her hair piled on top of her head, it added a few inches to her height.

I smiled and nodded. My body had mostly recovered, but I still felt the odd faint spell from time to time.

I followed her onto the bridge. There was no tailored uniform that the crew wore, but everyone except Berta wore a type of dark grey coverall that acted as an impromptu outfit.

"It helps us recognise each other in a fight," she told me.

There were already some crew on the bridge, and they greeted me with a degree of politeness. I knew I would have to earn their real respect at some point. The ship had originally been a long range patrol vessel. It was a similar size to a UEN corvette. There were seventeen decks with a large hold that could carry a large amount of supplies. It was decently armed, with missiles, and one large cannon. It was built for speed. Far weaker than the last ship I served on, but would pose a deadly threat in the right hands.

"What do you want to do first?" Berta asked. She was sitting in the command chair, and had a big smile on her face.

I told her I wanted to get to know the ship and the crew first. We could then discuss our current objective.

Berta laughed at my formal words, but seemed impressed by my proactive approach to things.

"I'll be waiting here for you to return."

I spent the rest of the day exploring the Siren's Kiss freely. Everything had a utilitarian feel to it. There were no carpets or painted walls. Just bare steel and grated deck plates. No soft lighting or other usual comforts. It was a working ship through and through. The ships compliment was thirty-seven females in varying roles. I met a lot of them on my travels, and they all gave me a nod which was their way of saluting. Some abandoned decks had an eerie feeling about them, and I didn't linger in them to long. I toured the brig, medical bay and a large canteen in quick succession.

The armory was one of the most important places on this ship and usually well secured and critical. Inside I was introduced to the ships master at arms, and from my first impression I knew the various weapons and explosives were in safe hands. Her name was Martina and she was a fiersome woman. At about a foot taller than me she cut an impressive figure. The last time I had seen such a muscular woman was in the gladiator arena. Her shoulders were broad and her muscles rippled in her arms. She was about my age. Instead of a feminine hair cut she had a blonde mohawk on top of her scalp. With a tattoo that covered half of her face she was the very picture of what a pirate should look like.

"So you are the new officer," she said, and gripped my hand with a vice-like grip. I did my best not to show the pain I felt and nodded briskly.

"Emrah Jackson," I said, and asked for a quick tour.

"We got all sorts here," she said, in a deep confident voice. Unlike the others she didnt wear the standard coverall, but opted instead of loose fitting cargo pants and a white vest top that displayed her bulging muscles. I wondered if it was her vanity or to dissuade anyone from crossing her. As we talked though, I got the impression she was professional and not some hot head.

"When we board ships I will be the one leading the charge," she said, proudly.

For a ship full of women I had expected a few to show masculine traits, but she took it to the next level. As she opened the gun lockers, she chomped on a thin cigar that she smoked through her teeth.

"You were in the UEN?" she asked, giving me a quizzical look.

"That's right," I replied, with some pride of my own.

She looked at me and chewed oh her cigar. "You saw much combat?"

I smiled and told her I had seen my fair share.

"Berta told me she found you fighting in the area on Ferrin?"

"Like I said, I have plenty of experience."

Martina grinned out of the corner of her mouth, obviously happy with my answer. It wasn't just her job to look after the weapons, but to keep the ships company fighting fit. Before I left she offered to spar with my in the small gym they had, and I told her I might take her up on the offer.

As I made my way to the lower decks, I made mental note that I should really start to work on getting back in shape.

The engine room was my last stop, and the only time I asked the crew to line up for an inspection. I wanted to ask them about the engines, and their reliability. In space, they were the most important part of the ship, and I needed to be sure they were in order. Six girls in dirty overalls lined up in the noisy engine bay for me.

They answered my questions briefly and with as much information as they could. After one very technical question, one of the girls sighed exaggeratedly. It annoyed me, as this was the engineering crew, and they should be taking this seriously. I walked over to her and asked her name.

"Roki," she said, with a subtle grin.

"What do you do?"

She snorted, and pointed to her dirty overalls, "I'm a grease monkey." She was a petite girl, with a very perky attitude, that bordered on insubordination. I noticed she didn't have as many tattoos as some of the others, and assumed that she was relatively new.

"Do you not like my questions," I asked, trying to get some order out of her.

"The engine are working aren't they." she said with a cheeky smile. Her attitude was not what I was used to from a crew, but she was very young, and this wasn't a UEN vessel, so I let it pass. I couldn't deny that outwardly she was very cute. She had a wide full mouth, with a gap in between her front teeth that I couldn't help staring at as she talked. Nothing about her screamed disciplined, especially her hair style. It was a mess of tight auburn curls that didn't have any particular style. It was shoulder-length, and seemed to bounce everytime she moved her head.

"The correct way to address me, is Ma'am."

She looked to either side of her to the other girls to see if I was being serious, and then back to me. "Yes, Ma'am." she drew out the word enough to tell me that she didn't approve. One of the other girls snapped at her to behave, but Roki just rolled her eyes.

There was no use continuing, so I made an excuse and left them to it. I wasn't here to discipline anyone quite yet, I thought, as I returned to see Berta.

**************

I found my Captain eating a meal in her quarters.

"So what do you think?" she asked.

"Do you want the truth?"

She nodded.

I told her that I thought the engines needed a full overhaul, the unused decks needed to be properly sealed up, and the weapons systems needed upgrading.

"So basically you want a new ship," she said, with a grin.

I explained that I wasn't trying to sound like an alarmist, but with some time and effort we could have the ship in a much better state. Berta agreed, and would leave the details to me. I started to get the feeling that she was a fly by the seat of your pants type of leader. It wasn't my style at all, but we could make it work.

"What about the crew?"

"Most seem committed," but I told her that I worried about the informality.

"We are pirates, remember, no one joined for orders and structure."

She did have a point, which I would have to concede too eventually.

We chatted a bit more, then I noticed some data cards on her table. They were advertising luxury holidays.

"Going somewhere," I asked, curiously.

She picked up one, and handed it to me. It was for a space faring cruise liner called the Eden.

"What do you think?"

"Looks expensive, I said. There was a picture of the ship the guests would be traveling on. It looked massive and very modern.

"I know," she said. "You gotta be rich to travel on one of those things. Rich people make for good ransom payments."

In my experience the bigger the ship, the bigger the defense capabilities.

She began to tell me that a plan to raid a luxury cruise liner had been forming in her mind for some years, but a straight attack on such a vessel would be almost suicidal.

"I imagine it has a sophisticate defence system."

She nodded, and told me she had heard about another pirate ship being destroyed while trying to board one.

"It could be disabled from within," I suggested.

"Do you know how to do that?" she asked, her eyes lighting up.

"Of course." I went on to tell her my first posting was as a weapon system specialist.

"Might be something to think about for the future," she mused.

She explained our current objective, it was a simple one. To get everyone back into the swing of things after their extended break on Ferrin, we were patrolling deep space. Our sensors were scanning for any ships that might prove to be a target. Only one had been detected so far, but it had been a derelict ship, so we moved on.

"We could have scavenged parts? I suggested.

"Pirates don't do that," Berta told me simply. At first, I thought she meant it was a sense of pride that didn't allow them to scavenge, but she admitted it was more to do with superstition. I couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of hardened pirates being afraid of ghosts.

I was started to enjoy myself now. I had a purpose, and a boss who while I didn't necessarily agree with morally, I was starting to respect.

We talked some more about the crew, and I mentioned Roki's insubordination.

"She is new," Berta said, "punish her if that what you think she needs."

I asked what disciplinary procedures they had, which made her laugh. "I don't know, lock her up in the brig for a week, have her flogged, what ever you think is best."

It wasn't that Berta didn't care, I think she wanted to show me that she trusted my judgement.

As she poured herself another glass of wine, she casually mentioned that I was free to take a lover if I wanted. "As long as it's consensual," she said, with a knowing grin.

***********

On my way to lunch the next day a announcement came over the internal comms system, telling me I had to report to the bridge. I didn't hang about, and quickly made my way there.

"We got a ship on our long range sensors." Berta announced as I came through the doors.

"How big?" I asked. One of the bridge crew told me it was a medium-sized vessel. Berta had changed our course to follow it. She looked to be in great spirits, and told me it was good to be on the hunt again. I was less keen, I had after all been on the other end of a pirate attack before.

"Do we have a visual?" Berta asked.

The main screen was enhanced, but from this distance we couldn't make out what type of ship it was. She ordered the weapons systems armed, as we closed in.

"You should see it now," one of the crew said, and the viewer showed us our prey. It was a transport ship, not large, and lightly armed.

The room was suddenly bathed in blue light, as Berta order the ship to battle stations. Their ship couldn't match our engines, and soon we were in firing range.