Captain Emrah Jackson Ch. 33

I tried the door but it was locked.

"Can you open this?"

She nodded and told me she would give it a try. I watched as she opened the electrical panel next to the door.

I looked around instead for a weapon. All I could find was a wrench.

As Roki worked I looked out of the view screen., The battle was intensifying. Ships burned and crashed into each other. The UEN were making short work of them. No doubt due to the data we supplied.

"Got it," Roki said and the door slid open.

"Come on," I said and handed her the wrench.

We raced through the corridors. According to Roki, Talia had kept one escape pod functional and it was near the bridge. It didn't take us long to find it. Talia was already inside and Alina was following. I covered the distance in seconds and grabbed Alina's long braid, I yanked her out and threw her to the deck. She wouldn't stay down long but I need to disable the controller for my collar.

Talia looked shocked to see me and fired her pistol at me. The bolt missed me my inches. I grabbed her arm and dragged her out. I knocked the gun to the deck and struggled with her. She was trying to activate the collar. As I twisted her arm up behind her back I was aware of Alina bounding towards me. Roki stopped her though and crashed into her side. Losing the wrench in the process.

I had Talia's arm behind her now, but I was struggling to find the release button.

Alina recovered quickly, picked up Roki by the throat and slammed her into a wall. Just one more second I thought as my fingers scrambled to find the button. Was on top of Roki now and had retrieved the wrench from her she was about to bring it crashing down in her face.

"No," I yelled. Then Alina screamed and reeled back. Roki had hit her in the ribs. Not with her hand but with a knife. Alina backed away as blood began pouring out of a wound.

I found the button and my collar snapped open. I used my entire weight and threw Talia back towards the door we had come through. The gun was on the floor and I picked it up.

Alina had pulled the knife from her side and her face twisted in pain. She was approaching Roki with it, I pulled the trigger and shot her in the side of the head. Her lifeless body dropped to the deck.

Talia shrieked and ran over to her. I thought she was going for Roki and I leveled my gun at her. She didn't and instead cradled Alina in her arms.

I wanted to shoot her and get this over with once and for all. It was Roki who stopped me.

"We gotta get out of here," she said and scrambled towards the escape pod.

I wanted to join her but Talia was still alive.

She looked up at me and I offered her my hand. "We have to go."

She shook her head. "This is my home." Tears were streaming down her face. I wanted to tell her how wrong that was but I didn't. Instead, I struck her in the temple with the butt of the gun rendering her unconscious. I dragged her limp body to the pod.

It was a squeeze and once we were in Roki hit the controls.

There was a loud hiss of hydraulics, and we were sent hurtling into the cold darkness of space.

We tumbled out and I could see the Spartan as we ejected.

The Bellerophon fired and the shell tore through the hulking ship with ease. It didn't exit, my only guess was that it hit the engine and stopped. Then the whole thing exploded. Every part of that ship was torn open. The shockwave hit us and sent us into a spin.

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

The stabilizers thankfully kicked in and steadied us. There was nothing left of the Spartan now, just dust and tiny pieces of debris. I didn't see any shuttles and Roki told me they had been disabled like the pods. Talia's command for her crew to go to them was just so they didn't take her pod. We were the only ones that got out. The battle was still unfolding around us. I tried to look for the Siren's kiss but I couldn't see it. What I did see was the station being hit by multiple missile barrages. It broke apart but was still hit.

We were still vulnerable. While we were too small to be targeted debris could hit us at any moment.

I sent a wide beam message out there for any UEN ship to pick us up. It was a long shot that it would even be picked up, but it was the smart thing to do.

Moments later a voice came onto the comms.

"We aren't a UEN ship but we can help."

It was Bonnet's voice.

Relief washed over me and I hugged Roki.

The Siren's Kiss moved into view. I had never been so happy to see that ship.

"We made it," Roki said.

We had I thought and I looked down at Talia's unconscious body.

Roki asked me why I had saved her life.

"She was part of my crew, my old crew, my old life."

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

As the Siren's Kiss brought us aboard Roki told me it was her that disabled the engines on the Spartan. She also told me about a young woman called Hana who had helped her. Alina had killed her. I told her to think about the good she did not the way she died.

Bonnet met us as we disembarked along with two marines.

"You need to put her in the brig for the time being," I said and gestured towards Talia's unconscious body.

As the Marines got about securing her, I asked how the battle was going.

"It's over," she said with a smile. "The UEN made quick work of the pirate fleet. That data we sent was invaluable."

As we went to the bridge she asked what had happened to us.

"All I knew was that we were ordered to undock. I did consider sending the Marines over but decided not to blow our cover."

I told her she had made the correct choice and I would tell her the story later.

When we got to the bridge I saw the extent of the damage that had been done. Just about every pirate ship had been destroyed. It was one giant debris field now. I could see UEN vessels coming in now. Frigates and Corvettes. They would be picking up any escape pods.

I sat in my command chair and Roki stood next to me. We were holding hands and I didn't want to let go of her just yet.

"We are being hailed by the Trinidad," one of my girls said.

"Put him through," I said.

Harmon's face appeared on the screen.

"Glad to see you made it," he said with a beaming smile.

"Just about," I said and squeezed Roki's hand.

**********

We were ordered to move out of the systems and join with the main fleet. It gave us a couple of hours to spare, and I had a few pieces of unfinished business.

The first on my agenda was Anax. He was the Biorian liaison that we had been given. He was under guard in his temporary quarters.

"Okay," I said to him. "There are two stories you can tell. The first is that Lieutenant Bonnet seduced you to get the data we needed. Something I am sure she doesn't want on her record. The other is that you decided to play the hero and give us that information willingly. As such I'm sure the UEN will take that into account at your trial."

"The second one sounds good to me," he said solemnly

My next destination wasn't something I was relishing at all.

Three Marines were guarding her in the cell I had once occupied many months ago.

She was sitting on her bunk and she looked defeated.

"What happened to my ship?" she asked quietly.

"Destroyed. No survivors."

"What now?"

"Back to Earth where you will be tried for your crimes."

"You shouldn't have taken me into that escape pod, Emrah."

I didn't know if she meant the one from the Calypso or the Spartan.

"It's over now, Talia," I said and walked away.

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

We docked with the Trinidad and made our way across in the tunnel. A shuttle had been sent for Talia and was taking her to the capital ship.

"What happens to the Siren's Kiss now?" Roki asked.

I told her I would try to think of a way to save it.

As we walked to my quarters she told me about a planet called Desolation. It was where they landed to conduct repairs. It had been an awful place and she told me it was a shame to put all that hard work to waste. Then she told me a story about stealing a bottle of wine and the trouble it had caused her. It was nice to hear a funny story after all that had happened.

She sat on my bunk and watched as I changed into a fresh uniform.

"Do I get one, technically I work for you guys now."

I shook my head and told her it was a breach of protocol. Even having her here was breaking all sorts of rules. The other girls that had come from the original crew had to return to the holding pens in the cargo hold. I told Roki I would try and do something about that too.

"Stay here," I said, "and be quiet."

"Where are you going?"

"To see the Admiral."

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

I went across to the flagship on a shuttle. I met with the Admiral in one of the meeting rooms

"Your plan worked Emrah. The fleet is gone and Talia is in custody. I couldn't have asked for a better outcome."

She told me that the information we sent had allowed our ships to target theirs much more easily. It resulted in our side taking no casualties.

"It was all a set up you know," I said. "The Calypso, The Denmark. It was orchestrated by the Biorians. They wanted this war. They wanted to profit from the outcome."

Nagamo didn't look shocked. "It always felt too neat for me. When we bring them to the peace table it will be handy to know thank you."

I asked her what the UEN was going to do now.

"The mission is complete, the piracy threat has been neutralized."

"So we just leave and go back to UEN space?"

She shook her head.

"As there is no official claim on Ferrin by any government we will be keeping it. We are going to turn it into a penal colony for the pirates we captured today. There is going to be a safe zone between our space and that planet. It will divide the free systems in two, and we are going to be heavily patrolling it to deter any further piracy. As for the Biorians, we will make sure they put an end to their slavery practices."

"There's still a lot of slavery out there," I said.

She nodded. "There won't be in this part of space for a long time," she said with a smile. "The rest of the free systems might get the hint and realise this could happen to them."

Before she left she asked if there was anything she could do for me.

"There is one thing," I said. She didn't look happy at all as I told her what I wanted.

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

I made my way to Ambassador Gant's quarters and buzzed the door. The last time I had seen him he had tried to blackmail me into bed. I also had information that could ruin his career.

"Good to see you alive Captain," he said with some surprise as he answered the door.

There was nothing I wanted more than to tell the Admiral what I knew about him, but I had a different plan. As Talia had told me loose ends often had a way of reappearing.

"I was hoping to see you," I said "I wanted to apologise for the other night. I was very drunk and not feeling myself."

"Uh-huh," he said with a skeptical nod.

"I shouldn't have talked to you the way I did, Sir." I was being as respectful and polite as I could in the circumstances. I could tell he was enjoying my deference.

He agreed with me and told me it would be forgotten.

"Could I come in and discuss my future?"

He looked like he wanted to say no, but he relented when I gave him a wide smile.

"Like I said I was very drunk and didn't know what I was saying. I've been thinking of ways to apologise to you."

"And how would you do that, Emrah?"

I cocked my head to the side and smiled shyly. "Maybe we could discuss it in the bedroom?"

He nodded cautiously. A man like this would never change, but it would take some effort on my part to convince him I was being serious.

"I am going to need some powerful friends," I said as I began to undo the brass buttons on my tunic.

"You are making the right decision," he said with a grin now on his lips.

I opened my tunic just enough so he could see that I wasn't wearing a bra underneath. I wanted him to see how submissive and vulnerable I was.

He nodded with appreciation.

"Come on then," I said softly and swayed my hips as I walked into the bedroom. I removed my tunic and dropped it to the floor.

I watched from over my bare shoulder as he came up behind me.

"What made you change your mind?" he asked.

"I need to ask a favour."

He chuckled and began to stroke the bare skin on my back.

"Is that so, Emrah?"

I shivered as I felt his fingers gliding up and down my spine.

"The first thing is that I want you to resign," I said. "The second thing is that you are going to explain to the admiral what you did with me when I was a slave."

His fingers froze in place. "You are out of your mind. Besides, I know things about you too."

I turned to face him. His eyes didn't go to my bare breasts and instead were fixed on mine.

"I will be telling her the full story of my past, every little detail. I will probably lose my commission, but it will be worth it."

His face went pale as he now saw my seriousness. Being half-naked in front of him just proved how far I was willing to take things.

"They will lock you up."

I shrugged and told him I had been in prison before.

He started to babble and wheedle his way out of it. I picked up my tunic and put it back on.

"I'd hurry if I were you," I said. "You will want to get your version of events in before I do."

I smiled as I left him to contemplate his future.

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

When I got back to the Trinidad I went straight to the brig. There was someone there I wanted to speak to.

"You made it Emrah I told you were a survivor," Berta said with a smile.

"Good to see you, Berta. I have a little proposition for you."

"Are you going to return the favour and spring me from prison?"

"In a manner of speaking, I am."

I told her about what I had agreed with the admiral. The Siren's Kiss wouldn't be destroyed and instead, it would be stripped of all weapons and given back to its rightful crew. All of them after all had provided a valuable service to the UEN.

"Not much of a pirate ship without weapons," she said rubbing her chin.

"I told the admiral that it was your ambition to become a transport captain."

She laughed. She knew it was her only chance at getting her ship back. "It might be fun for a while."

I doubted she would really do what I was suggesting. Berta was born to be a pirate, and from my experience of her, she was an honourable one. She didn't kill for fun or trade in slaves. She made money and kept her girls safe.

"Just be careful out there," I said.

"What about Roki, is she coming with us?"

"I was going to ask her to come back to Earth with me."

"I hope she says yes, Emrah."

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

When I returned to my room I told Roki about my conversation with Berta.

"You can join them if you want," I said.

"I thought we were going to go and live with your sister," she said hopefully.

I laughed and embraced her. I was going home with the woman I loved. I couldn't have been happier. We talked about what we might do together. I even jokingly suggested that she might even consider joining the UEN.

"You think they'd take an ex-pirate?"

"They took me back, didn't they."

"Hmm, maybe, would we be on the same ship?"

I had to be honest with her and tell her that I'd never get to command a ship again. If I decided to stay I'd be sent to work behind a desk.

"We can see what happens, then decide," she said diplomatically.

Then she asked me if we'd be travelling back on this ship.

"I'm afraid not, we have to find a civilian transport if we are going to travel together."

Something occurred to me in that instant. It was a rule that I was familiar with but one that was seldom used.

"Of course, special dispensation would be made if you were my spouse."

She chuckled and asked if I was asking her to marry me.

"I think I am, Roki."

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

I married Roki on the bridge of the Trinidad that same evening. Harmon officiated. Bonnet acted as my maid of honour and Berta gave Roki way. It was a very strange ceremony to be having on a UEN ship, but it was special nonetheless.

Afterwards, we had an impromptu party in the canteen. Other officers joined from the ships and it turned into quite the event. Nagamo even made the journey over. I asked her how the negotiations were going. She told me they were going slowly due to Ambassador Gant's sudden resignation. That made me smile. Talia would have killed a man like that, but I wasn't her and was satisfied that his career was over.

At one point I saw her and Berta chatting happily to the Admiral. About what I had no idea.

All I cared about was Roki.

EPILOGUE

Talia had her trial It was brief and much publicised. She stayed tight-lipped on just what had happened on the Spartan. I knew there was more to that story. In the end, they gave her a life sentence with no possibility of parole. She had been through a truly horrific ordeal, but even so, she had made choices that put others into similar situations. I hoped that one day she might see that and come to terms with that.

I didn't hate her anymore, I just felt regret.

When we got back to Earth I was reunited with my child, Delphine. I didn't feel coldness anymore. I felt kinship and love. I had carried this child on my journey. She had been with me on the feral planet, and on Ferrin during the UEN attack. Roki soon grew to love her. We stayed with my sister who I hadn't seen in quite a long time. It was a bit of a shock for her when I turned up with a new wife and baby. Especially as she thought I had died.

Then came the question of what I was going to do with the rest of my life. With some reluctance, I sent a letter of resignation to the UEN. They didn't accept it and instead offered me the rank of Admiral if I stayed. Roki begged me to take it. Partly as she wanted to attend all the state dinners and fancy parties I was sure to be invited to.

So in the end I took up the offer, and at the ceremony, Roki was there with Delphine to watch them pin my stripes on.

We settled on the coast of Scotland, right next to the ocean. Roki loved it and would spend hours just staring at the churning sea. She even tried sailing, but surprisingly for a seasoned pirate, she hadn't the stomach for the waves.

I found the time to be reunited with Antionette. She had taken a job as a dancer and singer and was earning great money doing both. She was happy living as a free woman now and it was lovely to be able to spend time with her again. I never did track Lilly down. There were lots of worlds in UEN space and I hoped that she was settled on a nice one.

As I look back on my time in the free systems I often feel deep sadness about what I went through. I had lost many friends and people I cared about. There were nights I would wake up covered in sweat from a nightmare about those times. As the years went on though I started to focus on the friends I had made and the love I had found. It had been a long journey for me and one that I would never forget.

The End.