[Preview]Renegade Ravager Vol. 3 -- Chapter 4

As always, I'll keep posting up one chapter a day till release!  Pre-order starts the 19th with release on the 29th!

=============================

Chapter 4 – 01738.083 AA

“This better be good,” I said gruffly as we gathered in Aggy’s AI core.

Iuno was already there, while Josefine, Aggy, and Elspeth had followed me from the bridge. I had invited Xarl and Victor to join us, but the quartermaster was busy doing an inventory while the other refused to leave his reading.

Balan, silent as always, followed after us. It took some effort to coax her away from the hatch and to join us by the central column that supported the massive computer.

Ramon’s image appeared as a holographic projection. Shaped like a living statue, his sculptured, inhuman countenance smiled back at us.

“And a good morning to you too,” he said. “First and foremost, Ms. Hayes, I’ve sent you the latest profit projections for Vermin Ventures. Even if you have little interest in your company’s finances, I still need you to sign off.”

“Right, rubber stamp time,” she drawled.

When we had slaughtered the guests of the Diaspora Circus, we had killed some of the richest, most powerful people in the Hegemony. The Perfection, their twisted legal system, declared us as the rightful owners of their wealth and property.

We quickly employed Ramon to act as our agent. While we were legally in the right, that didn’t mean the heirs and business partners of the people we had slain were idle. He had moved swiftly to grab companies, assets, and corporations before they could be stolen or seized.

Ramon had integrated our gains into Vermin Ventures, the company Elspeth had founded to cover our activities in the Hegemony. Overnight, it had become one of the largest and most powerful corporations in the Hegemony. Elspeth owned a dozen companies as well as several star systems, like the one we were hiding in.

The Hegemony had broken out into civil war at the unexpected, seismic shift in its economy and the sudden absences in its halls of power. Those who had previously found themselves exiled to the lower rungs of the Hegemony were scrambling toward the top while murdering everyone in their way.

It was like pigs fighting over slops.

And while Elspeth enjoyed what her new wealth could purchase, mostly machinery and engineering supplies, she had little interest in overseeing her new empire. She had quickly delegated most of the responsibility to Ramon.

His new role had come with a simple stipulation. If he betrayed us, if he stole from us, if he did anything to break our tenuous trust in him, I would kill him and glass whatever planet he was hiding on.

It was a simple pledge, but Ramon knew I was good for it.

The man was the ultimate narcissist, literally transforming himself into his image of perfection. As long as we provided him with the wealth and access he needed to pursue his goal, he would loyally support us.

“I’ve also been hunting the two people you gave me, Colonel Terrence Grant and Admiral Raquel Johanna,” he continued. “It appears both of them have retired from the military – at the same time too, how fascinating. Their records vanish after that, but it appears they are in hiding on Principe Divin.”

I ground my teeth. After freeing Iuno and the others, I had tasked Ramon with hunting down Colonel Grant and Admiral Johanna. The two of them had been responsible for the disaster at Sanctuaire Généreux Deux. The blame had been unjustly pushed onto the Star Ravagers, and we had been sentenced to exterminating for treason.

I was looking forward to the day we could meet the crooked, incompetent bastards; they would suffer for every battle brother and sister who had died.

“Don’t give me such a sour look, Mr. Légionnaire,” Ramon said to me. “I bring glad tidings! I’ve found a lead on one of the inquiries you tasked me with.”

He turned to Josefine. “I’ve found a potential lead on the Tigre Calme Deux 39th Exploratory Force.”

Zoto went completely still while the Yord woman’s eyes went wide.

“What?” she murmured.

Ramon’s perfect face broke into a joyful grin. “I’ve recently received word from one of my agents in the Republic. A series of logbooks from Tigre Calme’s naval command have recently been discovered. They date from around the time of Ms. Josefine’s expeditionary fleet.”

“Were you able to secure the logbooks?” I demanded.

“Sadly not,” Ramon answered. “By the time I received word, they had already been shipped to Valeur Mineure for processing.”

Iuno and I shared a glance. We were both familiar with Valeur Mineure, mostly from rumors and tall tales told in the Republic military.

It was a black hole operated by the Republic’s myriad military intelligence agencies. It was where data was scrubbed and secrets erased.

Aggy, unaware of the rumors, stepped forward. “Explain.”

“Valeur Mineure is one of the primary hubs for the Republic’s military intelligence services, particularly their black book operations,” the broker replied. “The largest moon circling Valeur Prime is a facility for turning truths into lies or destroying them entirely. Virtually all Republican communications are routed through such facilities to be inspected and carefully modified.”

“It’s a spooky factory,” Iuno said darkly.

“But not to be underestimated,” Balan contributed, to my surprise. “Military intelligence often works hand-in-hand with the Saints and their harems. They have access to the upper echelons of the Republic and are privy to many of their secrets.”

“Indeed, outside their duties in monitoring mass media and communications, they are routinely tasked to inspect and scrub documents, removing embarrassing content. They ensure the history of the Republic continues onward, uninterrupted by military losses, rebellions, and other blemishes,” Ramon continued. “It appears everything tied to Ms. Josefine’s history is set to be erased.”

“I won’t let that happen,” she responded, her chitin-covered fist clenched.

Zoto growled along with her, his hackles raised.

=======================

Our meeting broke up an hour later. Ramon promised to find more information about Valeur Mineure. Specifically, we tasked him with gathering as much intelligence as he could about the star system’s security. Aggy already had a few ideas on how we could get in, she was a master of subterfuge and cloak-and-dagger operations, but she needed more intel before she could formulate an operation.

As promised, I joined Josefine in her greenhouse that evening.

“No Balan tailing you?” she teased as I entered her domain.

I shook my head. My bodyguard had seemingly vanished as soon as the meeting had ended. It was a bit worrying, but I decided to focus on the evening ahead of me.

Josefine’s greenhouse now spanned most of the Liens Lumineux’s upper decks. Crew quarters and supply holds had been converted into more space for her to cultivate her horde.

The vast chambers teemed with alien life. When we had evacuated the Chorinth system we had cleared out the hatchery Josefine had been building upon Chorinth-A36. Several thousand workers and queens had already been replanted on the various dead worlds of the Albrecht System, but even more remained onboard the flagship.

Outside Josefine’s plan to use some of her buddies as flying crews, she hoped she could breed deadly war forms to act as shock troops and boarding crews. We all knew we’d eventually need them. There was no way our quest would end in anything but bloodshed and strife.

Josefine and I took a walk across her greenhouse, wandering a forested path amongst the mammoth xeno trees she had grown. Their branches were full of huge, wriggling eggs, which were picked by workers before being bundled underground to buried hatcheries.

Countless Yord toiled around us. Amongst them stood forget-me-nots, huge, flowery aliens that Josefine used to direct her horde. The creatures clouded the air with pheromones, which reaffirmed her commands and orders, reminding the creatures of their instructions even when their master wasn’t present.

We stopped here and there as Josefine and Zoto inspected various projects she was working on. I spotted a huge tree, bigger than the rest, growing toward the ceiling and curling along the inner hull. Its sides were festooned with strange, bulbous growths that glowed soft shades of blue.

Josefine paused to show off the new nectar flowers she was growing. Each produced enough food to feed hundreds of Yord, offsetting the species' traditional weakness. Countless Republican military commanders had defeated the xenos by effectively starving them to death, denying them the biomass they needed to propagate their invasions.

I saw highly advanced war forms, each an evolutionary branch completely unexplored by the hive kings, the marauding overlords that lead Yord campaigns. Josefine was truly the pinnacle of their ambitions, the perfect combination of Yord efficiency and human ingenuity.

Our walk eventually brought us to a clearing in the middle of the greenhouse. I was surprised to see amongst the otherworldly plants and alien war forms a very common, terrestrial garden. It looked like something out of a storybook, complete with a white, picket fence and a small gate.

“My buddies built it for me,” Josefine confessed as she opened the gate and led me inside. “I was feeling homesick, remembering the garden my mother had nurtured when I was a child.”

Zoto nuzzled against her leg.

Up close, I could see the shrubs and flowers weren’t the mundane plants you’d expect to find. Instead, they were the Yord’s attempt at creating a terrestrial garden; the blooms were far too large and too colorful, and the stems and vines were unusually thick, pulsing with alien vitality. The scents in the air were too sharp, too sweet, to be from any naturally evolved plant life.

It was a mimicry, built from Josefine’s memories.

I was more shocked to learn the Yord had created it of their own violation, without Josefine’s input. She confirmed it was a surprise gift; she had entered the greenhouse to find the plants already waiting for her. She had just added the picket fence with the help of some of her workers, to complete the look of the garden her mother had maintained during her childhood.

Zoto barked joyfully, and the nearby workers yipped, shaking their woody limbs as Josefine again thanked them for their gift.

Their efforts were a very human gesture. One that the Yord wouldn't have even comprehended, let alone carried out, without Josefine’s influence.

At the center of the garden was a small gazebo. The flowers around it were especially vivid. I couldn’t imagine any terrestrial garden with such impossible blooms.

There was a large daybed in the center of the gazebo. Josefine pulled me down to lay beside her. She had withdrawn most of her chitin and shell, ensuring she wouldn’t poke me too hard as she nestled against my chest.

Zoto curled up at the bottom of the bed.

We lay there for a time, not saying a thing.

Finally, I asked. “Are you okay?”

Josefine gazed out at the garden with her four eyes.

“I’m not sure,” she answered. “My life since you saved me from that Yord bioship has been a non-stop rollercoaster. My days have just been packed, fighting cosmic horrors, destroying the Hegemony, and learning to get along with my little buddies.”

Zoto yawned.

Josefine gave me a small bump with the heel of her foot. He lolled his tongue out, acting like he didn’t understand his master’s intent.

“Go play,” she hissed.

He licked the bottom of her foot.

Fuming, she got out of bed, picked up Zoto, and placed him outside the gazebo. He ran around before lying back down by the entrance.

She glared at him. He panted happily.

“Fine,” she growled. “Give me and James a little private time and I’ll give you some of those tea cakes you really like.”

The little xeno was gone in an instant, moving so fast he accidentally triggered my tacnet. I took a deep breath, shutting down my combat stims before they could floor my system with adrenaline and stimulants.

There would be time enough for that shortly, based on the way Josefine looked at me.

She sauntered back to the bed, then curled up beside me, her hard talons stroking against my chest. Small tears formed along my skinsuit as she effortlessly shredded the material.

I lost a lot of skinsuits that way.

Josefine gave a little yelp of surprise as I pulled her onto my lap. Her shell retracted further, revealing her pink, sexy skin. My hands played across her hips and up her sides. I loved the feel of her skin and its soft, pebbled texture. Slowly I made my way up to her breasts. Josefine sat up and raised her arms over her head, giving me ample opportunity to stroke her nipples.

All four of her eyes closed and she hissed sharply as I began to rub my thumb over her teats, giving them small pinches with my forefingers.

“James,” she moaned.

I pinched her harder, causing her to yelp. Her back arched as she pressed into my teasing. The greenhouse around us erupted into startled squawks and growls.

She lowered her claws against my chest. “I don’t think it’s fair that I’m the only one naked around her.”

Her talons moved so fast that it set off my tacnet again. My skinsuit fell away, cut to ribbons. Warm air played across my chest and arms. Josefine flashed her claws again, and the rest of the uniform fell away.

Freed from its restraint, my cock slapped hard against her abdomen. Josefine giggled as she flicked scraps of fabric from her claws.

“Much better,” she purred.

She ran a claw against my shoulder, raising a faint welt. Before I could even feel any pain, she leaned down and ran her tongue against the mark.

Josefine continued to lick and kiss me, working from my neck down. Her tongue was rough, like a rasp. I could feel it dragging against my skin, digging into the contours of my collarbone and pectorals and down along my abs.

The Yord woman left a trail of wet kisses down my chest and abdomen, till she reached my cock. She retraced her claws, leaving her touch feathery soft, as she began to kiss and stroke my length. Groaning, I ran my hands through her thick hair, the tendrils winding around my fingers.

Josefine began kissing my crown, her teeth barely nibbling at the edges.

“How does it feel?” she asked.

Looking down at her, I could only marvel at her four eyes. They glowed orange with some inner light as a string of spit and precum hung from her lips.

“Amazing,” I answered with complete sincerity.

She grinned and squeezed my cock, watching my reaction.

It felt like all the blood in my body was being drained into my erection. My hips floated off the bed as she languidly swallowed my cock, her throat shifting and changing to fully accept its length. Bracing her hands, one against the base of my cock, the other against the small of my back, she began to piston up and down.

The sensation was indescribable; the wet pressure, the texture of her lips, and the thrill of danger when her razor-sharp teeth nipped against me. It was all too much.

I strove to hang on as long as possible, but Josefine was determined to bring me to an explosive end. Her tongue corkscrewed around my length, extending and contracting in impossible ways.

My grip on her head tightened. “Josefine!”

She began to hum, a discordant buzz that ran through me like an electric spark. I came hard, everything flashed white as I blasted pulse after pulse of creamy seed down Josefine’s throat. I could feel the contractions as she eagerly swallowed.

With a wet pop, she released me. She gently began to stroke me, my cock still painfully raw and sensitive.

“That was amazing,” she said, her tongue working over her teeth.

Shifting, she sat up on my thighs, her damp heat evident.

“We’re just getting started, légionnaire. I might not be in the navy anymore, but I’m always happy to prove our superiority over you –”

She giggled in shock and delight as I spun and pushed her down, pinning her to the mattress.

“Never dare a légionnaire to prove his worth, for he will always rise to the challenge,” I murmured.