The Adventures of Tim Bodge Ch. 23: Pt. 02

Chapter 23 Part 2

Tim got up early. He sat in the Captain's chair and asked Sarha to give him a report.

"Tim, what department should I begin with?"

"Sarha, begin with the four people from the hospital vessel."

"The three I told you about will be discharged from the diagnostic bed in about two hours."

"When can I have a word with them?"

"Madlyn will deal with them from that point forward. You will have to ask her?"

"What is the situation for the second woman?"

"She started coming round, and it could be another day or two."

"Notify me when I can speak to the others."

"I will inform Madlyn that you'd like to talk to them as soon as possible."

Sarha provided Tim with the remainder of the ship's report, which allowed each department head to give the details.

As Tabatha walked onto the bridge, she looked to see who the pilot was. She could tell it was Mayio. "Good morning Mayio." She then turned her attention to Tim. "Tammy missed breakfast this morning. Did you have a rough night?"

"Yes, after all the fun and horsing around was done, I had a tough time sleeping."

"Sorry to hear that. I got a request from my father. He would like us to visit some friends while en route. These people visit the space station all the time. But they have not been seen in over a year now. He was hoping that we could stop by and check on them."

"Tell your father that we are going to do this for him. You have that information, don't you?"

"Yes, I have already given it to Sarha."

"What's the name of this place?"

"They are in the Khecia system on a planet called Unphea. It is part of the Deviantart universe. Their God's name is Raen Andaleio, and he is called Irolan. Their species is called Undain."

"Tell your father that we shall stop on the planet of Undain to let him know what we find. How are the MTS machines working for your father and King Elberud?"

"They agreed to begin allowing trade between the two worlds for both commodities and machinery."

"OK, it sounds like it's working fine. Anything else?"

"Yes, but I don't know how to ask?"

"If you don't know how to ask, you shouldn't ask."

"I must; Tammy wishes to know whether you are serious about Deniece."

"The answer is at this moment, No. However, if Tammy would like, I can ask if she would like to join the action in our bed."

I don't think that's what's bothering Tammy. I believe she was concerned that if you were serious about Deniece, you would ask us to leave the ship."

Tim thought for a moment, "I am not planning to settle down with anyone at the moment. You and Tammy will leave when you are ready and not a minute sooner. We all know it's the adventure we all want, not the love that will come later. You and she will find the love of your life and know it's time to leave. Does that answer your question as well as hers?"

"Yes, thank you. That will set both our minds at ease."

"But, Tim, since we are the only ones here, except the pilot, and she is not listening. You and I need to talk."

"OK, talk."

"As you know, you will not die. You could live for a thousand years."

"Yes, so is there a problem?"

"Yes, if you live that long. You will need a wife or two during that time. It seems you are too busy with this ship. Tammy, and I think it's up to us to find you a suitable wife. At present, there are three of us in your bed.

We think that would be a good number. First, at certain times of the month, your females will not be available to you. Second, once one gets pregnant and passed a particular time, you will not have her. So, you would need a second wife. Once Tammy or I leave, we will invite your next wife into your bed.

Once a wife feels like she can no longer perform her duties, she may choose her replacement."

"Do I have anything to say about this?"

"Yes, you have a lot to say. It's thanked you, Tabitha. For thinking about my future."

"What if I won't like the one that is picked?"

"You may try her for a week, then make up your mind. Then she will find you another."

"What if I don't want this to happen? What if I tell you and Tammy not to do this?"

"It is already done; your wife will be Deniece when either Tammy or myself leaves."

"Does Deniece know that you have picked her to be my wife?"

"No, not yet, but she wants you. Both Tammy, Madlyn, and I can see that in her."

"Well, if she is to be my wife, only after the departure of any of you, then it can be a long way to go."

Tim and Tabitha sat there talking a little longer. Then Sarha interrupted, "Tim, I have a message for all three of you; Tammy is on her way now," Sarha said as she appeared on the other side of Tim's chair.

Tammy strolled onto the bridge with a questionable look, wondering what was so important.

All stood around Tim's chair and waited for Sarha to relay the message.

"Dear daughters and Tim, the Queen, has been abducted, and they wish for me to renounce my throne; I have three days to make this so."

Everyone was totally in shock. They couldn't believe what they just heard. Tim rose from his chair and hugged the two girls. "Sarha, open a channel to the King."

"The channel is open."

"King, we are at your disposal; the girls and I are on our way. You will have complete and total cooperation from this ship."

"I will be here waiting for my daughters." Said the King.

"Sarha, tell DarkIce to come to the bridge, Also tell the troop's commanders. I will need a yellow alert status."

Tim turned to Tabitha and Tammy and said, "You both go ahead and be with your father. I will follow in a few minutes."

Tabitha and Tammy both hurried away, headed straight for the MTS. They came out onto the castle floor. There, their father was waiting for them. They ran into his arms and started to cry.

Tabitha looked up and asked, "Do you know anything yet?"

"The only thing we know so far, the Queen was abducted from her second stop on the tour."

"Do you know who is doing this?" asked Tammy.

"Yes, the maiden that brought the message said it was from O'Vaae."

"Who is this O'Vaae?" asked Tammy.

The King went into the details while they waited for Tim.

***

DarkIce and both commanders came to the bridge. Tim sat in his seat and waited. He saw all standing in front of him. "The Queen has been abducted; Commander's, I want your troops armed and ready to go. DarkIce, you and Shanae will be in charge here. I want all the war machines started up and ready to go also."

Both commanders looked at each other. "Tim, why are we both going?" The Commander from Palugezon.

"Commander's, you are not two units here, you are my soldiers, and I said get ready, do you understand." Both commanders looked at Tim. Now knew he was the one in charge of all soldiers.

Both the Commander's turned and moved at a quick step towards the lift. Entering the lift, the Commander of the Palugezon soldiers said, "Did you see the look on his face? No wonder he's the Captain. With that look, he could command 10,000 soldiers, and not one would dare question his orders."

"That is why Commander Anden-Aipas likes to serve under his command. He knows how to command his soldiers. And that's what we are ... his soldiers. Try to remember that."

"Oh, believe me, I will from now on and no questions." Both exited the lift and headed for their troops.

***

"Sarha, I need ten probes to watch over the castle. Motion detector, infrared heat detector, and stun guns. I will need twenty probes with a cloaking device, sensor for DNA embedded, with the Queen's DNA. Send them through the MTS machine."

Tim was now ready to follow Tabitha and Tammy to their father's castle. Tim walked through the MTS and found Tabitha, Tammy, and their father still at the machine's exit point.

"Tim, so glad to see you here; thank you for coming." Said the King.

"Have you heard anything else from the kidnappers?" Tim asked.

"No, but in three days, I will renounce my place on the throne. If that's what it will take to get my wife back."

"Then we have three days to find her. I have probes coming through ten for security around the castle; another twenty will be sent out to cover the area around where she was last seen."

"What happens if they see them?" The King was holding his daughters but was shaken a little.

"They will not see them; they are cloaked. I would not take that chance."

Suddenly with a rugged look, the King said. "Thank you."

"Tim, how will Sarha control the probes from so far away?" Tammy wanted to know.

"She will send a bot with a system that will make it possible."

It wasn't long after that the probes started to exit the MTS machine. They hung in the air around the exit. Soon there came a bot; this one was twice the size of the other bots Tim had seen. It started making a beeping sound. The probes moved through the doorway and were on their way.

The King just stood there and watched the parade of probes pass by him. Just before they exited the door, they began to cloak themselves. He turned to his daughters and asked, "Do you ever get used to the way Tim takes charge of things."

Tammy, with a smile, said, "No, father, our bottoms can only stand so much. Besides, he knows what to do and how to get it done." At the same time, she was rubbing her ass.

"Seriously, father, Tim really does know these things. He takes care and tries not to get anyone hurt."

Tim turned to the King, "I need you to tell your dispatchers that these lanes to and from the castle and two hundred miles around it will be closed to all traffic until further notice."

"I can do that, but should I tell them the reason?"

"No, tell them anything in that area, starting in an hour. Will be brought down by laser fire."

The King turned and told a runner to do exactly what Tim said to do and nothing else. The runner turned and left.

"Tim, all the probes around the castle are now active. Asked the King if he could have all the servants go to one area." Sarha requested.

"Sir, do the servants know anything about the abduction?" Tim asked.

"Yes, it was one of the Queen's maidens who brought O'Vaae's message."

"Then tell them they need to be in one place so that the probes will know if there is anyone else inside the castle."

The King turned again, and another runner stood; the runner nodded to the King and left.

"Tim, how are we to know what is happening to our mother?" asked Tabitha.

"Let's wait and see what the kidnappers do next."

"Tim, the scan of the castle shows no one else in the castle. The probes will now go into security mode." Replied Sarha.

Everybody went to the library, and the servers returned to work. The King and his daughters sat together with Tim and waited.

It was the second day of waiting, and still no word from the kidnappers. In the late afternoon, word came that the second Maidan was at the front gate. She was brought straight to see the King.

She told the King everything and where Mr. O'Vaae was waiting. The King sent his soldiers to retrieve him.

The soldiers brought O'Vaae before the King. He kneeled and said, "Please have mercy on me. I have been framed and feel like a stupid fool. I will accept my punishment."

The King looked down on O'Vaae and said, "Tell me the true story, and we shall see."

O'Vaae told the hold story that the pirates came to him after his father had died, offering to help him become the King.

Tim asked, "What did they want in return?"

"They said, the only thing they wanted was to be able to trade with us, freely."

"Sire, I have a message from a Mr. Crook." Said a runner.

"That's the pirates boss." Said O'Vaae,

"Let's hear it." Said the King.

"Good morning, King, this is Mr. Crook; I guess Mr. O'Vaae has told you that we have your Queen. Now listen closely. Our want is simple; you will become one of our controlled worlds.

We have a ship orbiting around your world with the power to destroy every city on your planet. To prove this point, you have 24 hours to reply. If not, we will start destroying your cities one at a time until you agree."

The message ended, and everyone looked towards the King.

"Within 24 hours, if we cannot save the Queen, I will accept their offer."

"Sarha, see if you can find that ship and see if there is anything we can do?"

"Tim, one of the probes has spotted a large ship above the planet."

"Is there a way to see if it is friendly?"

"I can try; I will start with a recognized coded signal to see if it will answer." Sarha started signaling using the probe. That sits between the planet and the ship.

The encoded signal was not returned by the vessel. Sarha transmitted the same encoded signal. This time, Sarha heard a beep from the other ship. Sarha responded with three bleeds. This lasted half an hour, the two vessels beeping a different pattern.

At last, the other vessel began to speak to Sarha.

"Sarha, can you ask, If we could speak to the captain?"

Sarha made the request and waited for the reply. It came back as a surprise to Sarha. She told Tim, "She is the Captain."

Tim had a shocked look, "What does she mean? She is the Captain?"

Sarha sent out the message Tim wanted. A few minutes later, the reply, "Tim, she said, the pirates tell her where they want to go, and she takes them there. She indicated that she was the only pilot. It's because she's a navigator and nobody else knows how to go about it."

"Sarha, is there a reason why I cannot talk to her myself?"

"I have troubles interpreting her language. But I will have you talking to her in a moment."

"Sarha, ask her what her given name is?" Tim wanted to know who they were talking with.

"My name is Sherald. Who am I speaking with?" Her voice came over the speaker.

"This is Tim Bodge." He was surprised at the way her voice sounded. It sounded soft.

"Well, Tim, how may I help you?" Sherald replied.

"First, are you part of the pirate's band?"

"No, they stole this ship from the Captain. He thought they needed help and allowed them to board. Then they killed the crew and let me live to drive the ship."

He asked, "Sherald, why haven't you left the pirates someplace?"

"Because they leave one male to watch over me at that time. And if I could, I would. But I would have no one on board to help run the ship."

Tim asked, "how many are on board at this time?"

She said, "there are 30 females onboard plus the twenty pirates."

Tim asks, "who controls these people?" Tim now smiled and thought this is a joke.

"Mr. Crook and his crew. They are the ones who brought them on board."

Tim asked, "if he might meet her." He thought, 'Bet she says no.'

"Tim, if you go on that ship. They could capture you." Sarha said.

"Tim, why should you wish to meet with me? You know nothing about me." Sherald said in return.

"I am offering to help, but I first need to know do you like Mr. Crook?"

"No, he is a scumbag and a few other things. The universe could be better off without his kind."

"Does Mr. Crook control the ship?"

There came a quick reply from Sherald, "No, he cannot run my ship. He can't keep his hands off the other females."

"Has Mr. Crook brought a female on board within the last few days?"

"Yes, one was brought up and placed in a cargo bay. Why?"

Now Tim tells her, "that the woman Mr. Crook brought aboard is a Queen of this world. I need to come aboard to get her."

Both Sarha and Sherald wanted to know how he was to get aboard the ship.

"Sherald, is anybody's looking at the scanner or is there a warning signal for approaching ships?"

"Tim, I have given her instructions on turning off the scanner and the warning sounds. She now wants to know what is your plan?"

"I will take a small shuttle to her ship and dock. Sherald should meet me in the airlock and guide me to the bridge. That might be helpful."

"I have disabled the scanner and alarm. How long will it take to get here?"

"I shall be there in thirty minutes; I will call when I dock."

Tim turned around, walked right into the library. "King, I have located the Queen. She's aboard the ship with Mr. Crook. I have made arrangements for boarding."

"I'm coming with you!" said Tabitha.

"Well, so am I." Stated Tammy.

"No, to both of you. You are needed here. I need you to gather the soldiers and have them ready to do a boarding party. Sarha, I need you to send two of your probes to that ship."

"Tim, I'll send them right away."

"Tabitha, I need you to monitor the two probes. Once you see me dock, wait thirty minutes and send two shuttles full of soldiers. There are twenty pirates and thirty female prisoners aboard that ship."

"Sarha, I could use Pauline. Tell her to meet me in the shuttlecraft."

"Tim, she is on her way."

Tim made his way to the shuttle where Pauline was waiting for him. They entered, and Pauline sat down in the pilot's seat. It took them thirty minutes before docking. Tim called Sherald to let her know he was there.

Sherald picked up the call. A pirate was standing beside her with a gun to her head. "Yes, Tim. I'll be right down."

The pirate nodded to her. She started moving in the direction of the lift.

Tim and Pauline stood beside the hatch and waited. "Pauline, I want you to transform yourself into something that won't be seen if anyone else is out there."

Pauline moved to the far side of the bay. There she transformed into a tiny mouse and sat calmly.

Sherald and the pirate approached the airlock door. The pirate moved to Sherald's side in order not to be seen as the door opened.

At this point, Sherald pressed the button to open the door. As the door opened, Tim was standing there. She shifted her eyes to the side where the pirate was.

But before Tim could establish the connection, the pirate shifted Sherald to the side and pointed his weapon at him.

Tim raised his hands, and he didn't want to hurt anybody by doing anything stupid. He could have taken this pirate out quickly. But he didn't know whether there were others.

Tim moved out of the shuttle bay and into the ship's bay slowly. He was raising his hands higher to distract the pirate's eyes away from Pauline as she scurried around the corner of the door.

The pirate made a sign to Tim and Sherald to go to the lift. Sherald preceded Tim. Tim noticed something wrapped around her waist, and it looked like a tail with a sharp stone at the end.

They stepped into the lift; Sherald stepped away from Tim's side.

Tim now noticed that Sherald's tail was now at her side and was about seven feet long.

Sherald caught Tim's eyes and nodded her head toward the pirate. Her tail started to move; she allowed her tail to swing up and around the pirate's neck. She began to choke him.

Tim, while Sherald's tail was choking the pirate. He grabbed the weapon and placed it against his side. The pirate was strong and pulled the trigger and fired into Tim's side. The sound of the gun, while into Tim's side, was now muffled.

Sherald withdrew, letting down the pirate. But now she looked at Tim, believing that he was injured and that there was no help.

After verifying that the pirate was dead, Tim stood back up and checked his side. He was holding his hand out, and for both to see, there was no blood.

Sherald just stood there, staring at Tim's hand with a shocked look.

"I am a fast healer," Tim said with a smile. "I will explain later." Tim started to look around.

"What are you looking for?"

"Pauline?" Tim said.

"I am right here." She said as she started to transform back to herself.

Sherald thought Tim getting shot and not bleeding was a shock. Now a mouse was transforming into a feline right in front of her.

"Please, I shall explain it to you afterward." Where is the Queen being detained?

"She's in the cargo compartment on deck two."