Where No One Has Gone Before Pt. 03

When the woman finished securing me to the chair, she stood up. Tabitha gave her a deep tongue kiss, making sure Kyra and I could see their tongues wresting. There was nothing erotic about it and I had to look away.

"Alright, lover," Tabitha said. "Go on back to your shuttle. Watch for my tracker and meet me at the rendezvous point in eight days."

"What about the passenger ship?" the other woman asked. Tabitha looked out the front window for a moment, then back at the other woman.

"Shadow them for a couple days, make them think you're just escorting them. Lull them into a false sense of security, then blow them out of space," Tabitha said with a wicked grin. The other woman grinned back.

"You're so wicked, my Mistress," she said.

"You know it," Tabitha said. "Speaking of wicked, would you like to taste my nipples before you leave?" she asked, raising the front of her shirt over her bare breasts.

"Yes, Mistress," the other woman said as she kissed and sucked on Tabitha's pierced nipples.

"When we get back to base camp, you can suck my pussy to orgasm if you want," Tabitha said.

"I would love that, Mistress," the other pirate said.

"Then get your suit on and go to your shuttle. Remember what I said."

"Yes, Mistress," the other woman said. She made her way to the airlock in the back of the cabin, opened the door and entered. Once inside, she put on a space suit, depressurized the airlock and floated out into space. Tabitha turned to her console and spoke into her microphone.

"Passenger vessel, please continue to your destination," she said. "Remember, do not report this encounter to anyone. Thank you for your cooperation."

"Roger that, shuttle. Thank you." As we watched, the large passenger ship fired up its engines and moved away. Tabitha changed the frequency on her communicator and spoke again.

"Move out," she said. "Follow the plan. MT out." Closing her comm device, she turned back to us. "Well, what do you think of the new me?"

"You're going to kill all those innocent people after telling them you'd let them go?" I asked. Tabitha looked at me before speaking.

"Mistress Tabitha's first rule of space piracy. Never question Mistress Tabitha. The next rule. No witnesses. No loose ends. It's a necessary evil," she said.

"You're sick," I said. She smirked and nodded her head.

"Probably," she said. "You never answered my question, spaceman. What do you think of the new me? You like my body work?"

"It's interesting. I get the bull tattoo. What's with the big dick?" I asked. She looked at the tattoo before answering.

"That? I went out to see the Kentucky Fried Mutha Fuggas after I got out of prison. Fucked the lead singer right there on stage. I can't tell you how good it felt to be fucked by that 12-inch dick. I even let him cum inside my pussy so everyone could see. Talk about wicked. It dripped out of me for three days. Haven't touched a dick since then."

"Was that before or after his dick got cut off?" I asked.

"A couple days before," she said. She turned her attention to Kyra. "I see you've got yourself a new bitch. Kinda cute. And you're married. Isn't that sweet."

"What's this all about, Tabitha?" I asked. She turned back to me.

"What do you think, asshole?" she snarled. "First, you murder the best man who ever served in the Corps. Then you completely fuck up my whole Goddamn life. If it hadn't been for you, Bull would've been the First Officer or maybe even the Captain of the Enterprise and I would've been serving at his side."

"You're wrong about that, Tabitha," I said. "Bull was at his terminal rank. He was going to be forced into retirement when the Armstrong got back from Jupiter. You see, he had a habit of targeting women. One of them was my mother. You remember her, don't you?"

"Bullshit," Tabitha said. "You lie like a fucking rug."

"Tell me, Tabitha. The truth for once. Whose idea was it to throw me out of that airlock? Was it you, or Bull?"

"It was me, you fucking drek," she said, using modern slang that referred to stupid wimpy cuckolds.

"Why? Why would you do that to me? I don't get it. You never gave any indication there was a problem. I thought we had a good thing going," I said.

"The truth? The truth is, you were becoming a bore. Bull showed me what it was like to be fucked by a man. A real man. He was also a risk-taker. You were just a Boy Scout, doing your duty by the book," she said. "I wanted something more than you could offer and I didn't want to be tied down to a 'by-the-book' kind of officer for the rest of my life."

"Are you kidding me?" I asked. "You're a real piece of work, you know that? Is that why you joined up with these pirates?"

"I didn't join them. They joined me," she said. "And there's gonna be some changes. Starting with you."

"What does that mean?" I asked her.

"Well, first, I'm going to deprive you of the love of your life, the way you did me," she said. "Then, I'm going to destroy your precious Enterprise. And you're going to help me. I'm sure you recognized the nuclear device. It has a yield of 100 megatons. Don't worry, you won't feel a thing when it goes off."

"You know they'll hunt you down like a dog and rip you to pieces," I said.

"I'll take that chance," she said. "Enough talk. Get up," she told Kyra, holding her laser pistol.

"Wait," I said, a plan forming in my mind. "At least let me say goodbye to my wife properly. Just one hug and a kiss. That's all I ask." Tabitha looked between the two of us. Kyra was shaking by this time, scared of what the immediate future held for her.

"Alright, I suppose it wouldn't hurt. Never let it be said that I'm a cold, heartless bitch who denied you one last parting kiss," she said.

"I'll need these restraints taken off my wrists," I said. "Don't worry, you still have your pistol."

"No funny stuff with that Grav Tac crap," she said. "I'll blow both of you away right here."

"No funny stuff," I said in a monotone. She reached down and loosened the velcro straps. Then she turned to Kyra.

"Go on, give your husband one last hug and kiss," she said. Kyra worked her way to me, scared and nervous. She put her arms around me and I followed suit. Before I kissed her, however, I whispered quietly in her ear.

"Two as one. Invincible. Use my body like a fulcrum. Make her lose the pistol. Then follow my lead," I told her. She nodded her head slightly and gave me a deep kiss. Then, using my body, she pushed back and kicked out at Tabitha, making her lose her grip on her pistol. As she did that, I reached down and removed the velcro around my ankles.

Surprised, Tabitha tried to regain her footing and reached out for her pistol. I used Kyra's body and turned myself so I could get Tabitha's neck under my knee. It was an improvised version of the kata we had done together. Kyra realized what I was doing and responded just as we practiced. I looked down and saw I had Tabitha right where I wanted her.

She looked at me with fear in her eyes as she realized what was about to happen. She tried to fight back, but the momentum caused by our combined movement made it difficult if not impossible.

"Please... No," she cried as I applied pressure to her neck. I looked down and for a moment, I almost felt bad for her. Then I thought about what she had done to me and what she was about to do to Kyra. I shook my head.

"Goodbye, Tabitha," I said as I turned and twisted my body. I heard and felt the snap as Tabitha's neck broke. I saw shock, then nothing as her eyes dilated. I knew she was dead but I held the position for a few seconds to make sure. I relaxed my hold and her body floated lifelessly in the cabin. I looked at Kyra and saw tears in her eyes.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I am now," she cried as I held her. "You know, space can really suck sometimes." I couldn't help but laugh. Then I heard beeping from the nuclear device.

"Well, I'm afraid it's about to suck even more," I said. Looking around, I saw a small, cylindrical object floating near Tabitha's body. I reached out and took it in my hands.

"What's that?" Kyra asked.

"A dead man switch," I said.

"A what?"

"She had this in her hand. As long as she held it, the weapon remained inert. When she released it, it activated the device."

"WHAT?" I looked at the bomb and saw a ten-minute timer had started and was counting down.

"We've got ten minutes before this thing goes off," I said.

"Can't you stop it?" Kyra asked. I shook my head.

"No time," I said. "We've got to get this thing out of here and get as far away as we can. Come on, give me a hand." The weapon wasn't heavy -- after all, we were in zero-g. But it was a bit unwieldy, so Kyra helped me move it into the airlock.

"We need to get her out of here as well. Get those straps, we'll secure her to the bomb. Hurry." Kyra made her way to the front of the ship and grabbed the velcro straps as I pulled Tabitha's body into the airlock. We strapped her to the bomb, then got out of the chamber.

"Why are we doing that to her?" Kyra asked as I began to depressurize the chamber.

"There's no cold storage on these old ships," I said. "No place to keep her body. It'll be eight days before we make Mars. She'll be pretty ripe by then and the cabin won't be safe for either of us. We've got no choice." When the chamber depressurized, I hit the button and the outer door opened. Another button and the bomb, with Tabitha attached, was launched into space. I closed the door and repressurized the chamber.

"Hurry, take the co-pilot's chair and strap in. We've got to move," I said as I sat in the pilot's chair.

"You know how to fly one of these?" she asked.

"I flew something like it at the Academy. Just like riding a bicycle. Once you learn, you never really forget," I said. I looked at the console and realized it had been put together with pieces of equipment salvaged from other vessels. Some of the controls had Cyrillic lettering while others were written in French or Farsi. Still, I was able to figure out what button activated the energizers.

"Get ready, we're peeling out of here." I pressed the button and heard the engines wind up. I watched the indicators and pushed the engine control levers all the way forward. We were both pushed back into our seats when the engines fired.

"How long before the bomb goes off?" she asked. I looked at my chronometer.

"Roughly three minutes, maybe a bit less," I said. "Hang on."

"What about the blast wave? Won't we be hit with that?" she asked.

"No air in space, so there won't be a shock wave. The biggest danger is radiation that could affect our instruments and communications. Hopefully, this old crate has some shielding. Our best defense is distance. We need to get as far away from that thing as we can before it goes off," I said.

About three minutes after we left, we saw a blinding flash of light and I knew the weapon had detonated. Activating the rear view cameras, we could see a bright giant ball in space where we had been. I pushed the small craft ahead and watched the instruments for any indication of trouble. So far, there were none.

Maybe we had put enough distance between us and the bomb, I thought. I put the comm headphones on and fired up the radio, selecting the emergency frequency I knew was constantly being monitored. I put the radio in "record" mode and spoke into the microphone, hoping someone would hear my message.

"Mayday, mayday. This is Commander William Jones of the Enterprise. I am aboard an armed pirate shuttle with Lt. Commander Kyra Jones. A 100 megaton nuclear device was just detonated at our last position. We are currently on course for Galileo Station. Pirate vessels are shadowing Orion Flight 2375 on course for Huygens Base with hostile intentions. Request assistance," I said.

I set the device to repeat the message every 30 seconds. If someone responded, I would still be able to hear it over the headphones. About 20 minutes later, I thought I heard someone respond, but I couldn't clearly understand what was being said. I fiddled with the controls, hoping to clear up the signal. Then I heard it.

"I repeat, this is Captain Alice Brewster of the USS Armstrong. Message received, Commander. We have you on our scope and are on our way. ETA two-five mikes. Respond, please." I keyed the microphone and smiled as I looked at Kyra.

"Message received, Captain," I said. "It's good to hear your voice."

"Yours as well, Commander. Maintain course and speed. We'll see you soon." I breathed a sigh of relief and then heard another message.

"Shuttle, this is Captain Avery Scott of the USS John Glenn," a man with a faint Scottish brogue said. "Message received. Changing course to intercept. ETA two-seven mikes."

"Roger that, Captain Scott," I said. "Good to hear your voice, sir."

"And yours," Avery said. The USS John Glenn was a heavy combat cruiser commissioned about two years after the Armstrong, and was a formidable weapons platform. I felt much better knowing we would have even more firepower on our side. I looked at Kyra.

"The cavalry's on the way," I told her. Then I heard a third message.

"Shuttle, this is Commodore Simmons. Change to secure frequency alpha. I repeat, switch to secure frequency alpha. Over."

"Roger that," I said in response. I changed to the secure frequency and hoped the pirates weren't able to listen in. I heard Alan talking with Alice and Avery when I connected.

"Commander Jones here, Commodore," I said.

"What's your sitrep?" he asked.

"Lt. Commander Jones and I were on the Orion flight when we were stopped by pirates and taken aboard this shuttle, sir. Their leader planned to murder the Lt. Commander and destroy the Enterprise with a nuclear device, using me as their kamikaze pilot. We were able to overcome the leader and ejected the weapon."

"Do you know who was responsible for this?" Alan asked.

"A former pilot of yours, Commodore," I said. "She was released from prison."

"Your ex?" Alan asked.

"One and the same, sir," I said.

"What is her status?"

"Vaporized, sir," I said calmly.

"Understood," Alan said after a few moments. "Listen carefully, all of you. The USS Sally Ride is on an intercept course with the Orion passenger ship. Captain Brewster, I want you to take charge of this operation. You, Commander Jones and Captain Scott will deal with the pirates. Understand?"

"Understood, sir," Alice said.

"Understood, Commodore," Avery answered.

"Copy that, Commodore," I said.

"Sensors indicate a force of about 12 pirate craft in the vicinity of the Orion ship, Commodore," Alice said.

"Very well, Captain," Alan said. "You know what to do."

"Yes, sir," she said.

"I'll be monitoring the situation from here, Captain. Report when you can."

"Aye, aye, sir," she said. The discussion ended and I looked at Kyra.

"You ready for a crash course in small ship weaponry?" I asked her.

"I... I guess," she said nervously.

"Good. If you look under your console, you'll see what looks like a folded joystick. Grab the top half and bring it up toward you until it locks." I watched as she unfolded the joystick. "Alright, the red button on the left side is your tracker. Press that." She pressed it and I saw the display on her screen change.

"That green box tells you where the lasers are currently pointed. This ship has four lasers and the system can track as many as five targets at once. When your target is locked, that box will turn red. There are two buttons on the joystick. The top button fires the lasers. The button on the front fires missiles. Don't worry about using missiles. Just use the lasers. When the box turns red, you press that button and don't let up until the target is destroyed. Any questions?"

"Bill, I... I don't know if I can do this," she said nervously. "I took an oath to do no harm. I'm a doctor, not a... a..."

"A soldier? A gunner?" I asked. "I know. This is way outside your comfort zone and I understand that. I'd do it myself, but I have my hands full trying to keep this crate together. I know you took the Hippocratic oath, but you also took another oath when you accepted that commission -- to protect and defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic. How many people do you think are on that passenger ship?"

"I don't know. Maybe 60," she said.

"That's right. Sixty people on an unarmed, defenseless passenger ship. If we don't do our job, those 60 people could die. They're counting on us to defend them. So they need you to do your part. Can you do that?"

"I.. I guess," she said.

"No, don't guess," I said. "This is do or die time. They were going to murder you back there. Toss you out of an airlock the way I jettisoned Bull. Then they were going to use a nuclear weapon against the Enterprise. Those people in that ship need you. I need you. Remember, two as one. We're a team and together, we're invincible. Are you with me?" She looked at me and I saw a change in her face.

"You're right," she said. "I'm with you, my husband. You can count on me." I smiled at her before responding.

"That's my girl," I said. A few minutes later, I looked out the side portholes and saw the Armstrong and the John Glenn. I knew we would be okay. I had never seen the John Glenn before and I was impressed with the size of it and the firepower it had on display. I keyed my microphone.

"That's one helluva ship you have there, Captain Scott," I said.

"Aye, laddie, it tis," he answered. Then I heard Alice.

"Enemy formation is within range," she said. I looked at the console between the seats and saw the twelve ships headed for us. "Gentlemen, plow the road," she added.

"Plow the road, aye, aye Captain," I said.

"Aye Captain," Avery said. "Plowing the road." Kyra looked at me, confused.

"What does that mean, plow the road?" she asked.

"Press the button and fire like hell," I told her. She complied, and all four lasers on the shuttle fired into space. The other two ships opened fire and we were treated to a stunning display as numerous red streaks of hot laser fire erupted from them. I knew there was no way the pirate vessels could withstand such an onslaught.

I saw flashes in the distance and looked at the console. The enemy formation had broken up as most of the vessels were destroyed. I saw one ship try to break away. I suspected it would try to work its way behind us. I keyed the microphone and called Alice.

"Captain, there's a vessel breaking from the formation. I think it's trying to get behind us. Request permission to intercept."

"Permission granted, Commander," she said. I dipped the ship down and prepared to intercept the other vessel.

"Hold your fire until I give the word," I told Kyra.

"Got it," she said. I saw the enemy ship get larger as we charged toward each other. Then I heard the radio.

"Shuttle 101, stand down and surrender. I promise we'll make your death quick and painless," we heard a female voice say. I recognized the voice -- it was the pirate who took us from the passenger ship. I thought about my response, but Kyra grabbed her microphone and beat me to the punch. By then, the tracker had locked onto the oncoming shuttle.

"Eat this, BITCH," Kyra shouted. I looked at her and nodded my head. She pressed the button and all four lasers opened up on the ship. The other ship opened in a ball of flame as the lasers found their target. Kyra kept firing, breaking the vessel into tiny fragments.

I saw the head and torso of one pirate tumbling in space. A blast from the laser reduced the torso to ash. It took all my skill to dodge the debris from the other ship. When I had cleared the debris, I motioned for Kyra to stop firing.

"You can stop firing now. I think you got it," I told her. Breathing hard, she nodded her head and let go of the joystick.