Captain Emrah Jackson Ch. 23

"Tell them to cut their power, or we will fire," I ordered. Berra smiled at my enthusiasm.

There was no response from and we resent the message. Again it was silence. The weapons officer plotted a firing solution, and launched a missile at the smaller ship. It had been set to exploded just off its starboard side. This got their attention, and the glow of their engines diminished, and they came to a halt.

"Good work," Berta said, "Prepare a boarding party"

Then I saw something on the screen, part of their ship was being jettisoned. "Look." It was their cargo bay, They had unlocked from the sip, and were now powering up their engines again.

"Well, Emrah, what do you think, should we follow or collect the cargo?"

"We get the cargo," I said, confidently. It was obvious what we wanted, and they were handing it to us on a plate.

"Very well, send out a shuttle."

As we waited the cargo hauler made its escape. Then I watched as one of our shuttles grabbed the floating container, and began to pull it back towards the ship. It took some time for it to be loaded into our dock, before we got a message from our crew dealing with it.

"Empty," was the message.

It was like a punch in the gut, but Berta just laughed. She told me it happens, but reassured me that if their cargo bay was empty it was unlikely they had anything else worth stealing.

"If it was that easy, there would be more pirates," she said, ruefully.

A few days later the same situation presented itself, but instead of the ship dumping its cargo, they tried to make a run for it. We easily overtook them and disabled their engine with our canon.

"Now comes the hard part," Berta said. "We'll have to board them."

I immediately volunteered to go with the raiding party.

"It might be rough," she said, with a grin.

I told her I would be okay. The truth was that I had plenty of training in ship to ship action like this. Although I imagined the UEN did it very differently to the crew of the Sirens Kiss.

I found myself at one of the outer airlocks with a number of the girls. Martina was there, ever the imposing figure. She would be leading the team. After the securing lines had been deployed, a docking tunnel was extended locking both ships together.

"Take this," Martina said, and handed me a lazer pistol. It was a lot bulkier and sturdier than the ones I was used to.

"It's called a mauler pistol," she said. I noticed it only had two settings, high, and very high. It was crude, but Martina promised me it was effective.

Because of the danger of a hull breach we climbed into EVA suits. I didn't want to start throwing orders around and let the girls do what they usually did. It all seemed pretty straight forward. We would be going in two lines. Two girls at the front were carrying ballistic shields along with their pistols and would act as a vanguard for us. I was told to take a place at the rear.

Finally, we got a call from the bridge to start our breaching action. I was confident, but still felt tense at the same time.

On UEN vessels this would be a job for the marines. They wouldn't be using a docking tunnel, they would go out in small limpet craft that would attach themselves to the outer hull of the targeted ship. With a docking tunnel the danger was that if the other ship moved at all the boarding team could be hurled out into space. Also it meant that there was only one breach point, which was a tactical risk.

The controls to the door were triggered and the door hissed open. The girls were a lot quicker than I had expected and practically raced through the docking tunnel. I managed to keep up, and they began to cut through the hull on the enemy ship. This was a risky part, there could be anything on the other side. I'd heard a story once of UEN marines cutting through a hull only to cut directly into a fuel store that destroyed the entire ship. Nervously I waited, and then we were through.

The interior was dark, and noisy. Alarms sounded, due to the damage we had inflicted with our shipboard weapons. The girls moved methodically through the ship, clearing rooms as they went. I kept my mouth shut, and let them do something that they seemed very experienced at.

It was only when we got to the bridge that we came across anyone. Three men in filthy outfits were kneeling on the deck when we entered.

"Our comm system was smashed, we were going to surrender," one of them blurted out.

The girls moved quickly and zip tied them. Our party then split into two. I and some of the others stayed with them while the rest of the ship was properly searched. I didn't think they would find anymore people. This seemed to be it.

Martina was the one to interrogate the crew. At first, they seemed reluctant to cooperate, but they started talking when she grabbed one by the crotch and started to squeeze.

They were on a routine pick up from a mining station. This was confirmed when I was informed that their hold was empty. I informed Berta, who told me to get as much details as possible, and pick up any paper work and devices.

Later on she told me we were going to make their pick up for them as the mining station they were going to be't far. From their logs we could tell no distress call had been made. It was only a shipment of copper but it would fetch a good price on the black market. We got all the information we needed and left the crippled ship drifting in space. They had enough supplies to keep them alive until they got picked up.

Berta was in high spirits as we set course for the mining station.

*********

We would reach our destination in the next few days. I wasn't going to spend the free time siting on my hands, so I ordered a number of the crew to meet me on one of the abandoned decks. We were going to seal it up properly. To have it open and unused was dangerous. If they was a hull breach it was better to have it sealed as an extra layer of protection.

I asked for off duty crew only, and they assembled in a dark corridor. I noticed that Roki was amongst them. As I walked past them they nodded, except for her.

"Good morning, Ma'am," she said, with a little sarcasm. I ignored her, and told them what I wanted them to do.

The quickly split into groups, and got to work welding metal sheets over the doorways and bulkheads. I monitored them, and they worked quickly and efficiently. It was Roki's group that was the slowest, mostly due to her chit chatting with the others. She had an infectious way of talking, and was telling them dirty jokes.

"Okay, quieten down," I said, "concentrate on your work."

They did as I asked, but as I went to check on another group, I heard Roki talking again from down the hall. She was starting to get under my skin.

As the day wore on I let the other groups take a break for some lunch. Roki's group was seriously lagging behind, and I told them they would have to wait till the evening to eat. It was a fair punishment I thought. Roki didn't see it that way, and jumped up to confront me.

"We worked just as hard," she said, with a look of defiance on her face.

"Okay, Roki, you are on a charge."

"What's that?" she asked, with a shrug.

"You're confined to quarters for a week," I snapped

"Whatever, Ma'am." she said, with a smug grin.

I'd had enough, and told her that she was to report to my quarters that evening where we would discuss her attitude problem. I left them with clear instructions that I expected the work to be complete by the end of the day.

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

I had disciplined UEN crew before, so tonight wouldn't hold many surprises. The difference was that this was a pirate ship, and as Berta had told me, there were no formal procedures. I had already confined Roki to her quarters, but in reality I knew that wouldn't solve the problem. It had been suggested that I should flog her, which on a pirate ship might have seemed like the wisest choice. That wasn't my style though.

She was fifteen minute late when she finally arrived at my room. Just another thing that she did to push me, I thought. There were always going to be a few who tried to see how far they could get away with things. I had to set an example with her.

"Come in and shut the door," I said, calmly.

She was still dressed in her filthy coveralls, and didn't look happy at all. I had to make sure I didn't lose my temper, that would be the worst thing I could do. She was a lot less animated, now that she didn't have an audience. She wasn't standing to attention, and kept her gaze away from mine. I stood in front of her, but not in an imposing way. I wanted her to respect me, no fear me.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot," I said, with a smile.

She nodded with a disinterested look on her face.

"I was an experience commander," I began, but she interrupted me.

"I thought, you were a pleasure girl?"

Her disobedience, was too much, and I felt the anger in me rising. I was close to slapping her, but I took a breath and corrected her.

"Before that, when I was with the UEN."

"Sorry, Ma'am," she said, but was hiding a grin. In any other situation she would have looked cute doing it, but I felt my cheeks begin to redden

"I expect my crew to behave with a certain amount of respect, and you continue to push me. Do you have an issue with that?"

I shouldn't have expected anything else other than a shrug, which I got. It was at that point, I should have dismissed her. I had said what I wanted, and it was pointless continuing. I did though, and told her if she had a problem with me, she should tell me now.

"Someone told me you turned down this ship to go and work in a pleasure house."

"That isn't true, it's a long story, that isn't any of your business."

"Was the money better, or something?"

"No," I snapped, and told her to just leave it.

She wasn't finished though. "Did you enjoy it?" she asked, with a sly grin.

I took a deep breath and ignored her question the best I could. "The important thing here, is that I am you commanding officer, Roki."

"You said, to ask you anything I wanted."

I paused and forced a smile. "That wasn't what I said."

"Sorry, Ma'am," she said, with her usual sarcasm.

There was no getting through to her. Maybe in time she would settle down, and apart from having her flogged, I didn't know what else to do. These girls while dedicated to their job, but didn't have the installed discipline of a UEN crew. Reluctantly I realised it was me with the problem, and I knew I had to somehow learn to live with it.

"You are dismissed."

Before she left, she asked if she could ask me something. Against my better judgement, I nodded.

"Well, one of the other girls wanted to know something."

"Go on," I said, feeling my anger returning.

"She wanted to know if you would give her a discount for a fuck."

It was too much, the blood rushed to my face, and I slapped her hard across the cheek. Her grin was wiped off her face, and was replaced by a look of complete shock.

"Get out of my sight," I hissed. She left quickly, and after a few moments I wondered if I had done the right thing.

It was only her that gave me any trouble, and I started to wonder if other members of the crew felt the same, but were just better at hiding it. I knew it wasn't going to be the end of it, and I would run into the same problem if I let it fester. I had to think of a solution.

**********

To clear my head I decided to spend some time working out. There was a gym that occupied a corner of one of the smaller cargo holds. Nothing about it was sophisticated, but it would serve its purpose tonight. I wouldn't be alone in my workout as I found Martina there.

"How's it going?" she asked. Casually as she lifted a heavy barbell. We were both officers, so some informality was to be expected. It looked like she had been here a while as she was covered in a gleaming sheen of sweat. It made her muscles look even more defined.

"Great actually," I said, as I took a seat on a rowing machine. "You did great during that boarding mission."

She smiled and did another rep of her weights. I was suddenly reminded of the time I worked out with a man called Tyrus back when I was with Red Moon. It seemed a lifetime away now.

"So tell me about yourself," Martina asked.

"I'm not sure I have led an interesting life," I said, as I began my routine.

She grinned widely. Even her teeth seemed large and intimidating. Not that I felt uncomfortable around her, she had a very easy demeanor. As she lifted the weights I couldn't help but admire her body. She was so toned and her muscles glistened under the bright lights. I never usually took the passive role in a relationship, and I had the feeling that neither did she. For the longest time though, thats all I seemed to have been doing. Either as a slave or a victim, but the reality was that wasn't me. I wondered if she knew that, as I sensed some interest from her.

With a loud clank she dropped the heavy weights onto the deck.

"How are you enjoying your quarters?" she asked, approaching me.

"There fine."

"Nice big double bed you got in there, I only have a small single."

I nodded, and watched as she took out one of her long thin cigars. I had smoked in the past but now the smell of them annoyed me. I didn't mind Martina smoking in front of me though. There was something very sexy about it. It added to her masculine quality, and I felt a little warmth inside my stomach as I watched her take a large puff.

"It's nice to have a shower too I bet," she said and blew out a long plume of smoke.

It was obvious to me that she was flirting, and in fact I felt very flattered. It had been a long time since someone had tried to seduce me.

"It's a filthy habit, I said, testing her.

She grinned immediately. "What filthy habits do you have, Emrah Jackson?"

Thankfully my exertion on the rowing machine would hide any blush I might have, and I just grinned back.

I was enjoying our interaction, but it wasn't going too last. She told me that if I ever needed a workout partner I should give her a call. We both knew what that meant, and she left me to ponder that opportunity.

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

Martina's mouth was on mine, her lips were pressing hard against my mouth. One of her hands gripped my wrists and held them firmly above my head. Her other hand was on my pussy. Rubbing hard and fast. I could feel the muscles of her forearm against my flat stomach. She was making me come. Then just as I was about to orgasm I awoke with a warm feeling all over me.

The dream of her was still strong in my memory as I writhed under the sheets. It had just been a wet dream, and one that I was still feeling the effect of as I crawled out of my empty bed. Just a harmless fantasy I said to myself as I took a shower. I had a lot to think about today and needed to clear my head. We would be arriving at the mining station soon. I dressed in my grey coveralls, and fixed my hair into a tight bun at the back of my head.

Berta suggested I take the lead on this one. I had some experience with this sort of thing, and I looked the least like a pirate out of the crew. When I told her who I wanted to accompany me, she was less thrilled. Mostly due to her inexperience. I told her in was necessary as like me she didn't have many tattoos and wouldn't stand out as much as the other girls. Martina would have been the perfect choice, but half of her face covered by an obvious pirate tattoo.

The station was on a small planetoid, and while not large, was heavily armed. Once we were in comms range, we told them we were there to collect some cargo. At first, they didn't believe us, as we weren't a registered ship, and didn't appear on their schedule. It took a lot of explaining on our end, but eventually we convinced them to let us land and talk in person. Berta sat in the commanders chair and brought the Sirens kiss down smoothly

Roki was waiting for me near the exit ramp. She was a lot more subdued than before, and I quietly explained the plan to her.

"Why did you want me for this?" she asked, a little puzzled.

I mentioned that it was her lack of tattoos that got her picked for this assignment. Privately though, I thought that working together in a professional environment might build a few bridges between us. Roki was a very chipper young woman and popular with the rest of the crew. Getting her respect would be a good thing overall. Besides I still felt bad about the slap.

Together we stepped onto the planet. Neither us were armed, and we were wearing our overalls. Martina would be waiting by the loading dock with a group of the girls just in case anything went wrong. The landscape was one of bare rock and red dust. The air was thin and I had a hard time catching my breath. There was a building block up ahead, next to the top of a mine shaft. It was no different to the place I had visited when I needed refueling so long ago. There was a lot more security at this place. Large guns covered the landing area, and while they weren't pointing at our vessel, they posed a great risk should we be found out.

Two men approached us. One was armed with a laser rifle, while the other wore a suit, and carried a digital pad.

"Follow my lead, and keep your mouth shut best you can," I whispered to Roki, before I addressed the men. "It's good to be on solid ground again," I said, with as much femininity in my voice as I could manage. The last time I had been to a place like this, they hadn't seen a woman in a long time, and I was counting on this being the case here. The more their minds were elsewhere the better.

The suited man, smiled, giving us both a look up and down, while the security officer kept a wry look on his face.

"We are here to pick up a shipment of copper," I said.

He nodded his head, but asked where the usual ship and crew were.

"They were jumped by pirates, the crew is okay, but their ship is on its way to dry dock."

He didn't look convinced, as the Sirens Kiss was hardly a cargo hauler. I told him we were private contractors who had been hired at the last minute.

"Do you have paper work?" he asked.

I handed over the digital pad we took from the real crew, and he slipped it into his pocket.

"Probably don't need to contact head office," he said, with a shrug. "It takes days to get a reply. Follow me."

Roki stayed close as we were led to the structures. I took a look over my shoulder to our ship, and was glad help was only minutes away if we got into trouble.

"They should have called ahead," the man muttered.

"I know, but there's been a lot of pirate activity recently, they want to keep thing on a need to know basis."

I thought they were taking us to the office building, but we were heading towards the top of the mine shaft. When I asked why, he told me they were having problems with the oxygen supply on the surface, so they had relocated most operations underground. Roki gave me a worried look as we stepped onto a large good's elevator.

"I hope you're not claustrophobic," the guard muttered as he powered the machinery up. Gears whirred and with a jolt the metal floor began to descend with our small group.

"I'm Fisk, by the way," the man in the suit said. I introduced myself and Roki

"Never seen many female transport captains."

"Like I say, were contractors, we fill in the gaps, today it's copper, tomorrow it might be civilians."

He nodded.

"Any more women on the crew?" the security guard who was called Venn, asked

"Some girls, some boys," Roki said.

"No boys down here," he replied, with a grin, before Fisk shushed him.

The elevator descended further and our only view was bare rock. The air was getting thicker, and so was the humidity.

There was a loud clang and another jolt as we finally reached our stop. Venn hauled the steel doors open, and we were greeted with a warm jet of hot and fetid air.