Chapter 14 Pirate lord
Year 3506 of the Leron calendar. I have fallen into depression. My need for answers is the only thing keeping me going. The sensory data, gathered from satellites orbiting our home star systems outer most planet, tells a story worse than anyone feared. The images make sense, but they are still hard to believe. From the data, it looked like the navy fired our secret weapon at the unknown mass destroying the star. Mere minutes after they fired the weapon, the thing simply disappear. One moment it was orbiting three light minutes from the star, and the next it appeared next to his home world in a blinding flash of light.
(Callie)
Callie didn't wait and flung herself forwards. She needed to hurry as her targets, Yergan and Tony, were running, using his four guards to delay her. A silvery barrier snapped into existence in front of her, displacing the light. Her body tingled with energy, and her senses heightened, allowing her to maintain coordination even moving so fast. Her speed, augmented by the vibrant power of the positive art, allowed her to be in their midst before they could fire a single shot.
Wanting to create a rift in her enemies and cause confusion, she went for the gwark in the middle of the four first. Her knife dug into the small head of a gwarks soft suit, instantly killing the armoured alien. The other three, startled, turned and fired their weapons. This wasn't the smartest idea for them, as Callie was between them.
The sound of gunfire in the confined space was deafening, but Callie was already out of the way. Explosive rounds sprayed the room, indiscriminately bouncing off the thick composite walls, sending shrapnel everywhere.
The tallax security guard behind her was torn to pieces from friendly fire and haphazard rounds, deflected by her barrier.
The two remaining guards, both human, stood together, offering a tempting target. Her barrier flickered with the tiny yet deadly shrapnel as they unloaded their clips at her. Worried for her friend's safety, Callie sent out a deadly guillotine of force.
One of the two ducked, but the other, changing her magazine, didn't see the incoming threat in time. The scythe of energy tore into the woman's neck, cutting through her soft suit, muscle and bone before rocking the room as it slammed into the far wall. The woman's head clatter to the floor, painting the clear composite red with blood.
Callie drew her pistol, and with a burst of speed, she kicked the last guard in the side of the head. The soldier stumbled, rattled from the art enhanced kick despite the protection of his soft suit. A loud bang came from inside the room, slamming into the guard's helmet.
The security guard dropped his rifle and shook his head, dazed from the bullet. Callie stepped forward and raised her P223, placing the barrel an inch away from the man's thin neck plating, pulling the trigger without hesitation.
Calmly, Callie turned, the fight having taken probably five seconds. All four guards were dead, but she didn't allow herself to relax. She glanced towards Taniya in the far corner, staying behind a barrier of green energy with her pistol in hand.
Taniya was holding her gut, blood trickling down her pants. Lenny lay on the floor, his right leg matted with blood next to her. Both injuries looked bad, but she really needed to get to her target before she could help them.
Callie darted out of the hall after the two Gwark. Both of them moved with remarkable speed, running down the stairs like a demon was after them. She smiled, barreling down the stairs, her silvery barrier shimmering around her.
With only a few seconds head start, the gwark only made it to the entrance of the establishment before she caught up. A silver and black ball of energy formed in Callie's palm, roiling as she approached.
The air cracked as bullets bounce off her shield, deflecting and slamming into the walls and stairs. Greg, and Pit, stood at the front door, firing their weapons on full auto towards her. Heart racing, Callie glanced around. There! That slimy beetle Yergan was trying to escape through the common room to the back door.
Tony, somehow, was in the lead, and was going to make it to the backdoor first. Callie threw her net of energy and it opened, covering the back door Yergan was trying to escape through. The other Gwark, Tony, who was still in the lead, and was unable to stop before slamming headlong into the net.
It was as though the gwark ran into a blender, as he fell into bloody chunks through the door. With the rear exit dealt with, Callie turned her attention to the two door guards, still shooting at her with unenhanced explosive rounds.
Both guards looked terrified, firing indiscriminately on full auto, missing over half of their shots. What kind of monster could just stand there and be uneffected by over thirty explosive rounds?
Without losing a beat, she closed the distance between the two guards. First she swept the legs out from under Pit at the bottom of the stairs, and slammed her knife into his faceplate with a loud crunch.
The second guard, Greg, backed away, his mandibles clacking nervously as he dropped his rifle." I surrender!" Greg shouted, chittering in terror. Callie glared at the gwark, gesturing with her chin to the side. "Go stand over there and don't make any sudden moves."Callie order.
"Of course."Reply Greg, as he scurried into the corner, standing still like a statue. Moving to the side, Callie faced both the front door and the common room, noting both curious and terrified patrons.
Yergan stood there, like a deer in the headlights, gaping at her. From her position, Callie could see at least twenty other curious aliens looking at their brawl.
The gwark startled from his shock as he noted Callie's chilling gaze.. "Someone help me! I will pay you! Kill this woman and I will pay you. Twenty thousand lagnars to whoever kills this woman!" Yergan chattered frantically.
Callie raised her right palm, holstering her gun. A tempest of dark and silver energy swirled above her palm. She sauntered forward, glaring at everyone who would meet her eye. The room was oddly silent after the gunfire, and everyone watched her stride forwards nervously.
"I have no quarrel with any of you. This is none of your business. If any of you decide to butt in, you might end up like Tony."Callie said coldly, gesturing to the pile of bloody chunks in the doorway. Yergan chatter in anger, noting that everyone looked far less inclined to help him.
"I will give you a hundred thousand lagnars!" Yergan shouted.
Callie cut the gwark off. "Please go back to enjoying your meal. For the inconvenience, everything on the menu is half off today. Yergan, come with me, we have much to discuss."Callie ordered..
She turned to Greg, who was standing perfectly still in the corner. "Greg, can you do something about this mess?" Callie asked. "Of course, boss, I will get the staff to clean up the mess right away. Dont worry about the customers, I will see to it the staff knows about your orders."Greg replied, instantly scurrying forwards..
Looking terrified, Yergan skitter forwards towards the stairs, eying the energy in her palm nervously. With a sweet smile for the patrons of her new establishment, Callie turned and followed Yergan up the stairs.
She released the net of energy on the back door, making the energy crackle ominously as it dissipated. Based on the many people in the high-class restaurant, and their flickering eyes, this confrontation was being recorded.
Callie sighed at that, hating how easily these people could record her with their comms. That was a problem for later. In under twenty seconds, they arrived back at the smoke and blood filled room."Don't shoot, we are coming in."Callie shouted, noting Yergan was waiting for her, scared Taniya or Lenny might shoot them.
Yergan's mandibles clacked together nervously as they enter to the acrid stench of blood. Taniya sat on the floor, her pistol in one hand, holding her bleeding side with the other. Callie picked up a tablet from the table and pressed the help button. A hesitant voice come on. "Cindy, would you please bring up the emergency medical supplies?" Callie asked.
"Of course, I will be up shortly."Cindy replied.
Taniya stumbled, grasping the table for support. From the restaurant's lobby, there was a loud bang of a door being bashed in. Yergan tensed up, chittering nervously. "Either call your people, and tell them to back down, or I will kill them like the rest."Callie said, like she was discussing the weather.
"You can't kill them all! I have hundreds of subordinates."Yergan said angrily.
Callie gave Yergan a sweet smile that didn't reach her eyes. "And what good will all of them do if you die right now?" Callie asked, blocking his escape. Yergan shuffled nervously, its insect like legs scraping together in fear.
"And what assurance do I have that you won't kill me, anyway?" Yergan asked hesitantly. "You have none, but as long as you cooperate with my demands, I will work with you."Callie stated reassuringly.
Yergan nodded their bug like head, chittering, not completely reassured. With that, Yergan's eyes flickered as he used his comm, or maybe cranial implants, to send messages to his people.
The racket down in the lobby settled, and even the sounds of multiple people rushing up the stairs settled.
With that problem dealt with for the moment, Callie turned to Lenny and Taniya. "T, sit down. You are in shock. Lenny, how are your injuries?" Callie asked. T sat down unsteadily with a wince almost falling from the chair, her bright hazel eyes darting around frantically.
There were soft footsteps and a loud knock on the hallway wall, making Taniya raise her pistol towards the door. "I'm coming in, don't shoot."Cindy said. The young waitress entered the room carrying a duffel bag, her eyes wide with fear. Despite that, Cindy still carried herself with perfect poise, with a calm smile on her beautiful face.
Callie took the bag from the woman's hand and strode over to Taniya, who was bleeding profusely from her side. Callie positioned herself next to Taniya, facing the door. Yergan looked like they wanted to make a run for it, but we're too afraid to try. Callie took some extremely low tech yet perfectly useful scissors from her bag.
Callie took a numbing tablet from the bag and put it in T,s mouth. "Chew the tablet and it will numb the pain."Callie said. The young woman chewed thoroughly, her face relaxing bit by bit. Taniya took in a sharp intake of breath as Callie cut her shirt from the waist up to just under her left breast. Callie raised an eyebrow at the lacy pink bra.
"Don't you know you need to take a girl out to dinner before undressing her?" Taniya asked, wincing as she spoke, her face pale.
Callie grinned, deciding a little humour could liven up the mood. That's what she liked about T, always looking to make a joke. "Well, I actually just bought you dinner." Callie said, winking suggestively down at the pink bra. Lenny butted in.
"I don't like that suggestion. I don't agree with these terms. You are not allowed to undress me!" Lenny said, amused.
"Lenny you don't wear clothes, other then that soft suit in battle."Callie replied, using a clean towel to gently clean the blood around Ts wound. The blood was a bright red, flowing from the wound with vigour.
The only saving grace was the fact that the wound was low on her stomach, which meant T most likely didn't have a gut wound. Judging by how far inside her torso the wound was, Callie wasn't holding her breath.
With her hand scanner taken from the medical bag, Callie was able to let out a sigh of partial relief. The small piece of shrapnel, the size of her pinky nail, passed through two tubes of small intestine before stopping.
Normally, this kind of wound would require surgery, and some stitching of both small intestine cords before closing the wound. Callie didn't do the normal thing, which is go to a hospital, instead making Taniya lay on her back on the table. Like with Kayla's bullet wound, she reached inside with hair thin strands of energy and gently coaxed the piece of shrapnel from the wound.
It was a severe pain in the ass and took almost fifteen bloody minutes to get the thing through the way it entered. The others stood there watching in a mix of fascination and disgust while Callie performed the impromptu surgery on the table. Taniya, for her part, was blitzed out of her mind, humming softly as she lay there.
The piece of bloody shrapnel didn't make a sound as it fell onto the table, falling from hair thin tendrils of energy. Such a tiny piece of metal caused so much trouble. Callie let out a sigh of relief and set about stitching the wound closed.
Any doctor or nurse that watched her shakily stitching up the wound might have demanded her medical licence on the spot. Jokes on them, Callie didn't have a medical licence.
Callie pulled a plunger filled with energy gel from the bag, checking the expiry date and seal. She shakily injected Taniya's right onto her left butt cheek to help the woman's body disperse the gel. Callie had to admit, the young woman did have a nice butt.
Finally, she wrapped the wound tightly and turned back to Yergan. "Now where were we?" Callie asked, her hands stained with her friend's blood.
"What about me?" Lenny asked. Callie let out an exasperated sigh. "Lenny, your wound has already stopped bleeding. Just inject your fore leg with some energy gel and you will be fine."Callie said.
"But it will turn into a scar if you don't stitch the wound closed first."Lenny said, glancing towards his right foreleg.
"I hear Tallax women like men with scars."Callie said with a sly smile. Lenny grumbled, but walked forwards to rifle through the medical bag, not arguing further.
Callie cleared her throat, drawing Yergan's attention. The beetle stood in the far corner, waiting impatiently. He both looked annoyed at waiting and somewhat fearful now that she was done.
"Yergan, I know you are a busy bug, so let's make this fast. I have several cargo bays full of raw composites, and even some rare metals. I want you to be my middle man and fence the goods for me."Callie said.
Yergan gaped at her, chittering in confusion."if that is all you wanted. Then why did you come in and kill my people?" Yergan asked angrily.
"It's not all that I want. As I said earlier, I want you, and your entire organization, to follow my orders and support me, with both funds and information."Callie said calmly.
"And what sort of things will you be doing? My people will not throw away their lives uselessly without profit to be gained.."Yergan said hesitantly.
"Your organization is mostly focused on the illicit transport and selling of illegal goods. I am not here to stop or even hamper your business. I am actually here to make you more focused. For the most part, you will continue your regular business, however I will not tolerate trafficking of any sentient aliens."Callie said.
Yergans bug like face scrunched up like he just swallowed a lemon."We will take a loss in revenue, but not a big one. We don't often deal in trafficking."Yergan replied, not looking too displeased.
"Have you been able to sneak goods into Slax space without being caught?" Callie asked, getting the conversation rolling..
Yergan snorted, the sound a flitting chitter." Don't you know that officers' operation on the fringes of the slax empire are usually there as a punishment? They are terribly underpaid, and just looking to make a few extra lagnars." Yergan said jovially.
"I will send you the information you need to get ahold of my contact as well as the items I wish you to acquire for me."Callie said.
"And what about compensation? We are a business."Yergan asked warily. Callie smiled. Even under these circumstances, the wily bug was trying to gain a profit. She was happy she left him alive, as he was clearly a bug with a passion for money.
"Don't worry, Yergan, I'm sure you can find a way to gain a profit from my contacts. You just have to work for it."Callie said with a smirk. Yergan's mandibles clicked nervously.
"Oh, don't be such a daft bug. Of course I'm going to pay you for services, including information gathering."Callie said. Yergan's demeanor shifted and greed filled his large insect like eyes.
"And what sort of information are you looking for?" Yergan asked excitedly.
"First, I want to know about the war between the Slax and the Zrixians. Second, we have very little information on the whereabouts of the other two pirate lords." Callie said. Yergan winced at that.
"That may be a problem. Hendricks is a bit of a stuck up ass, but he is an opportunist. When he hears about me surrendering to another pirate lord, he will think I am weak and attack."Yergan said, concerned.
"And what if Hendricks had an unfortunate accident? Could you absorb his personal?" Callie asked.
Yergan glanced at the four corpses of his guards lying on the floor in pools of their own blood. "And why would you give me more personnel when I just tried to have you killed? Yergan asked, baffled.
Callie smiled at that and she tapped her cheek as though in introspection." I wonder, what do you think will happen if you betray me and fail to kill me?" Callie asked.
Yergan chitter, taking a step back. Callie clapped her hands together. "Now, make your decision Yergan, will you be my subordinate and obey my orders or should I find a more cooperative employee?" Callie asked with a glance towards the hallway and the innocuous Cindy.
Yergan's mandibles clicked softly as he made the only choice available. Well, he could say no, obviously, but that clearly meant he was signing his death warrant. After an unnecessary minute of delay, Yergan responded.
"Alright, I will follow under your banner."Yergan said, hesitantly. Callie smiled. Well, now, there was a pirate lord under her command. Sure, Yergan would probably betray her at the first opportunity if he thought he could kill her, but that was a future Callies problem.
"So, boss, what do we call you? I doubt you want me to tell my subordinates to call their ruthless leader Callie."Yergan said, amused. Callie sighed, glancing at Taniya, who was still laying on her back, mumbling something with a goofy smile on her face.
"My crew calls me Ark-an, after some ten legged spider thing from the Tallax home world."Callie said. "I can see that. Makes perfect sense to me."Yergan mumbled, just loud enough to hear.