Privateer's Commission 2 -ch 16-

Chapter 16

“Ralphy, the shuttles are all moving toward the fleet and will dock soon. We caeran’t wait any longer,” Xas concluded. Putting a cap to his fears and the looming fear of leaving the planet without Janey on board.

“Damnit,” Ralph hissed, staring down at the planet through the steel-glass of the cockpit. “She didn’t even say anything. I can’t even verify when she left the damn ship.”

“I’m sorry, Ralphy. I was rather pre-occupied with my delivery we’d brought on at the time, you were asleep, Rio, Liseth, and Del were all planetside, and Winnie was talking to her therapist,” Xas stated. She’d already said it several times and hearing it again didn’t actually help the matter. “Janey was the one expected to be on duty and she left.”

Though it did once again refocus him on the fact of the matter that Janey fled the ship.

Her personal belongings were missing from her compartment, nothing remained of her on the ship, and for all intents and purposes it seemed as if she’d fled to the planet. Fled and had no plans to return.

After Xas’ delivery the airlock cycled briefly and that was it.

Whatever ship arrived to take Janey away, had utilized a non-standard airlock that didn’t interface with the ship at all. Which just screamed ‘illegal taxi service’ to Ralph and meant where-ever Janey went, she didn’t want anyone to know where she had gone.

“Fine,” Ralph grumped, thumped his hand against the arm of his chair, and shook his head. “The time we need a pilot, we don’t have one.”

“I can sort of fill in,” Xas offered up. “I’m the ship, after all. I paid attention to everything Janey was doing and I also downloaded a large amount of flight data. I can certify that at the very least, I’m better than anyone on board at this time. Give me a few more days to refine, integrate, and expand upon the flight data and I think I’ll be as good as Eun.”

All he could do was nod his head at that, because there wasn’t anything else to be done.

Ralph was the captain and expected to give orders and directions. To lead the ship in and out of action. It wouldn’t do for him to try and pilot the ship at the same time, that’d just remove his ability to actually make calls and give orders.

“Yeah? Think you can perform at that level while handling everything else?” Ralph asked, his fingers tapping at the monitor. He was pushing his flight plan out to the planet’s space authority. The crew of the Turlan’s Toll didn’t technically need to tell them anything, but by at least giving them a notification, they were less likely to get attention.

“I can. I’ve been able to take up almost all the roles of your AI effectively, Ralphy,” asserted Xas. “I often cross check the pilot plotwork and movements because the ship is… it’s me. I’m the ship. You’re inside of me, haha.”

“Alright. Then you’re the pilot for the time being,” Ralph grumped, rubbed at his face with one hand, then looked to the empty pilot’s seat. “Our goal is to see how that Zane fleet looks. So get us in close, silent, and comms hardened.”

“I’m on it, Ralphy,” Xas determined. “Also, my shipment is all ready. With everyone else sleeping, you’re the first person who gets to see it!”

“See your shipment?” Ralph asked, not really understanding where this was going.

“Yes! I spent just about every damn credit I’ve earned as part of your crew on it, and then some. I went into debt!” admitted Xas. “Those loans aren’t going to be too hard to pay off, but still… whew. I’m all tapped out, haha. Let’s hope I get tapped repeatedly by you otherwise it wasn’t worth it.”

Ralph frowned, not really following.

“Well?” asked a woman in a skin-tight space suit a second before she sat down in the pilot’s seat.

It was the exact same woman that Xas had modeled her avatar after it seemed.

She had bright red-hair, bright green eyes, a freckled face, and petite features.

As her fingers danced and tapped at the monitor in front of her, she turned to face Ralph and gave him a strange smile. It was a perfect smile, but it truly felt performatory.

Blinking, Ralph took her in from head to toe as his brain scrambled to catch up.

She was achingly pretty. To a point that she compared with Marionette. Everything was artfully arranged to present a perfect dashi beauty.

On top of that, she had a figure that could compete and outshine Marionette. Given the near skin-like tightness of the space-suit, there was nothing left to the imagination when it came to the woman’s figure and attributes.

“Oh! You like it, haha. I can tell!” said the woman, her voice sounding pitch-perfect to Xas’. “Your eyes went all over me and did the up-down thing you tend to do when people aren’t looking.”

“Holy shit you weren’t kidding about making a sex-bot,” deadpanned Ralph as he understood exactly what he was looking at.

“I was never kidding about it. I spent far too much on this,” Xas stated through what was apparently her mouth, rather than the speakers aroudn them. “I more or less purchased a sex-android, one of the ultra top tier models that are more or less indisitinguishable from a human on the exterior, mouth, and genetalia.

“Then I had all the electronics scooped out and replaced with wireless connection and control systems. There’s no way I could’ve fit the entirety of my program onto the chasis and be able to utilize it in any way.

“I’m fortunate that the Turlan’s Toll has so much computing power to begin with. Trying to cram my actual self into a sex-android? Impossible. I’m just going to pilot my… body… around wirelessly. Just like I was doing with the droids, but with a lot more versatility and awareness.”

Nodding his head, Ralph was following along.

What Xas was describing was indeed insanely expensive. He’d transported some of the near top-tier sex-androids once for a client and the cost of each one had been in the hundred’s of thousands. He didn’t want to consider what an actual top tier model would cost.

“Though, goodness, this emotional neural data set I bought on the black market really makes it hard to think. I keep getting heuristic flags to be ‘horny’ and ‘sexually aware’ of you. Did you know you’re really handsome?” Xas got out with a realistic laugh. One that made her body shift and bounce in a lovely way as her Dashi face made the correct facial animations to match. “Oh, my. Laughing is quite different now. That felt… good, I think? Yes.

“Different in how my vagina feels. I probably shouldn’t have tied the emotional neural data set to sensor points in my body. I have this itchy clenching feeling down there while looking at you.

“Hm. I’ll just turn off all that for now.

“Anyways, I’m the pilot and I’m ready to make this work and take Janey’s place.”

“I’m… okay… glad to hear it,” Ralph mumbled, really not sure how to take all this. Xas had been an acquaintance and somewhat friend before. Then she’d become the Ship’s-AI and crew.

Now she was a ridiculously hot Blood of Dashi woman that had told him in no uncertain terms she wants to get ‘tapped’ by him.

“Yes! Though, I suppose I need to drop my pants and bend over for you. Janey was much more direct than what I’m being about presenting herself,” Xas said, stood up, pulled down the space suit, and promptly pitched her backside at him. Her womanhood on perfect display and only a few feet from him. “There we go. Now I’m Janey.

“Anyways. I wonder if Rio, Winnie, and Del feel this way around you. This constant gut squirming feeling that is flagged as ‘horny’. I wonder if I turn it on right now what—oh my goodness that’s staying off, haha.

“As soon as I turned it back on with my rear facing you, I felt my knees nearly give out. How fascinating. I’ll leave it off for now.

“Do you plan on mounting me right now? Knock my guts around, as Winnie would say?”

“Maybe… later,” Ralph got out in a strangled whisper before he turned back to his display.

He had no idea how to handle a beautiful Dashi woman with her nethers pointing at him.

“What if I wriggle it?” Xas asked and her hips began to slowly roll one way then the other. “I downloaded a great deal of information on proper body physics in erotic dance. Often gyrations such as this seem to elicit an appropriate response. Perhaps you’ll mount me now? I’ll turn on my emotional layer if you decide to do so, so please warn me before you insert yourself. I only need a single second warning or so.”

Ralph kept his eyes on his display.

Or tried to.

***

Winnie turned her head and looked at the space-suit covered Dashi that was now Xas.

“Haha, yes Winnie?” Xas said cheerfully, turning to look at Winnie.

Outside of Xas, everyone else had their helmets on. Xas didn’t breathe oxygen and her system was entirely dependent on an electrical charge. Which was handled by replacing a rechargable high-yield battery nightly.

“Just… still… getting used to having a body. And tits. Your tits are huge. I think I need that boob job now,” Winnie grumbled. It sounded like she had a frown on her face and Ralph didn’t even have to look at her to see it.

“I don’t think you do,” Xas countered, facing Winnie dead on.

Unblinking, unshifting, unmoving. Only her mouth moved.

“Your breasts are quite lovely and large and perky considering your lack of body fat,” Xas continued. “Ralph often stares at you when you’re not looking, and often looks at your chest. I think you and Liseth being unlike myself, Del, and Rio gives you something that we three cannot.”

“Boob job,” hissed Winnie under her breath. Then reached over and grabbed at Xas chest. She grabbed hold and squeezed it. “Damnit, yours even feel like real boobs.”

“They more or less, are. Just synthetic,” Xas said, looking down at Winnie’s hand as it grabbed at her chest. “I spent all my pay on this. You wanted to be better, I wanted to be better.”

Winnie huffed, released Xas’ chest, then groaned.

Only to get out of her seat and actually hug Xas.

“I’m proud of your effort to be better,” Winnie acknowledged, hugging the confused looking Dashi.

It’d been an emotion Ralph hadn’t expected to flicker across Xas’ face, but it’d been there.

Simple every day confusion.

“Thank you, Winnie. I’m proud of your effort as well, haha,” Xas said, her arms going around Winnie’s back and hugging her. “Is that an appropriate amount of force?”

“Hugs are different for everyone. Give me a little more oomph?” Winnie replied. “There, right there. That’s good for me. Rio likes them soft. Really soft. Come at her like she’s glass. Del… Del won’t let me hug her so I don’t know. Liseth is… I don’t know. She’s so hard to pin down. With that massive brain of hers, I can’t tell.”

“Understood, thank you, Winnie,” Xas said and released Winnie. “Are your plots ready? We are only minutes away from the screening force of the enemy fleet. They haven’t moved yet, but I imagine it will happen soon.”

“I like them soft, thank you,” Liseth said stepping up to Ralph’s seat. She had her helmet on, a pistol on her hip, and a medical kit slung across her space-suit. Her gaze was locked on Xas while standing there, her mechcanical ever present smile on her face. “It’s good that you learn these things Xas. You can also assume that Ralph would want all the normal laws of the Confed to apply to the ship for the most part. Now that you have a body, that would be a good thing to point out.”

“I understand,” Xas answered as Winnie released Xas and sat back down. The Dashi’s eyes had flicked to Liseth and hung onto her. That inhuman gaze meeting a genetically-engineered mind’s stare in equal measure. “Thank you for reminding me, haha.”

“Of course, Xas,” Liseth replied in a smooth tone. “Also, do please stop by for a full medical. I’m well versed in maintenance of your chasis. There were many similar models I had to look over during my time serving in the military. You wouldn’t believe how many officers kept one in their compartments.”

I… yeah. That sounds about right.

Even I considered buying one. Almost pulled the trigger until I saw that it took maintenance.

“I’ll do so, Doc,” Xas said, still staring at Liseth.

“You should blink more often,” Liseth suggested to Xas. “As well as to make your eyes move subtly a bit. Perhaps shifting from one eye, to the nose, then the other eye, or the forehead.”

“Ah! Yes, I will… yes. Haha. Thank you, Doc,” Xas said followed by a blink, then two more, her eyes sliding partially to the side, then minutely to the right. “I will include this into my ‘breathing’ and ‘posture shift’ tics. I’m still working out the ‘kinks’ so to speak. While also hoping to work out other ‘kinks’ with Ralphy.”

“Yes. Though please keep to yourself and away from my captain for a time,” Liseth advised. “Not until after I can inspect you and give you a clean bill of health. Please refer to manual page forty-two, subsection b for more information.

“I have no doubt that you’ll agree with me once you review that section. And before Ralph asks, it merely relates to maintenance and cleaning, but is important from Xas point of view.”

“Ah, yes, thank you, Doc. I… thank you. I will book several appointments immediately and… thank you,” Xas said, sounding relieved and nervous at the same time. “I really appreciate it. Also, we’re approaching the fleet.”

“I’ve got a number of sensor echoes, feedback blips, and random flits of tranmissions shooting across in nearly every which way,” Marionette reported. “I’m trying to capture what I can, but it’s a bit wild. Del is launching small fiber-optic drones for me with laser receiver to try and intercept some.”

“Exactly that,” Delilah confirmed. “Launching a lot of tiny little fiber optic drones. I’ve managed to even to increase their mobility. I sheathed the fiber optic cable in thick rubber, then put in little electric joints throughout that’ll allow it to writhe about. There’s more to it than that but… it works. They brace against their tether point.”

“Neat. I’d love to hear more about it later,” Ralph said honestly. It sounded like something new.

“Of course!” Delilah said with a smile in her voice. He didn’t have to be a mind reader to know she’d immediately gone straight to ‘hear more about it during movie night’, likely followed by getting into a bed together.

“Ugh, I think I should go to movie night, even if it turns into a porno,” Winnie complained.

“Should I go, too?” Xas asked.

Raising his eyebrows, Ralph saw a telltale sign that it didn’t matter if they got the drones into position or not. That realistically, there wasn’t going to be a need to question much of anything at all.

The fleet of Zane had just started bombarding the planet below with all the ordinance they had on board. Cannons, missiles, rockets, energy weapons, even gravity type weapons, all of them were being launched, fired, shot, sent, or dropped.

“Fuck,” Ralph mumbled as he watched all his sensors tell him the story.

That the planet below, where Mirkil forces were assisting, where even Cavalier Hesh was, was being glassed hard and furiously. Likely right atop positions that were manned by allies and friendlies to Ralph’s cause alike.

“That’s a lot of firepower,” Winnie whispered, her eyes stuck to the monitor. “They’re getting hit harder than I’d be comfortable asking Ralph to give me.”

“Haha, I think I could handle Ralphy giving it to me that roughly,” Xas laughed into the silence. “I’m tracking the Bertson fleets moving to intercept the Zane fleet. Zane hasn’t fired on the space station as of yet but realistically, if I were them, I’d already be trying to move further away.”

“No one targets space-stations,” Winnie countered with a shake of her head. “It’s too much of an escalation. The moment one side starts hitting stations, both sides will, and those are pretty damn hard to defend. It’s one thing to attack planets, asteroids, moons, bases, all of those are fair game.

“Space stations have typically been classified as just… not worth the escalation. They don’t need to move unless… unless there’s something you know that we don’t Xas?”

“No, I don’t know anything more than you do,” Xas offered up, her fingers poking at the monitor. “It just seems strange to me as an outsider to all this. Most of my information about the Confed is what I’ve learned first hand. I kept to the corridor for most of my life and didn’t really leave it much.

“Just seems foolish to assume that your enemy won’t hit a weak point when it’s possible. Perhaps I’m speaking from my training-data in regards to my security protocols in the black market. I tried to be very paranoid about it.

“Speaking of, I put an email over to you Ralphy with everyone who has my hardware, their names, locations, and what they’re doing. I also attached a nice relational chart of what I’ll do in exchange for you helping me out with these people.

“I wasn’t sure if I could seduce you in time, so I included other things such as credits in a ‘or’ type of statement list.”

“Xas,” Winnie hissed. “We’re having a long talk after this about your body and the respect you need to have for it.”

“Okay! Haha,” Xas replied quickly.

“Move us in,” Ralph interjected, finally coming to an answer. “I want to get in on that flag ship. It’s far enough behind that there’s not going to be much the Bertson fleet can do to get at them. Let’s see if we can’t get on that flag, take the commanding officer, and cause some problems.

“Or at the very least, strap some damn bombs to the hull and leave them there as a present as we scurry off.

“Because I bet the flag would be one hell of a prize if we took it, killed it, or knocked it out.”

“I love it,” Delilah offered in the immediate silence. “I’ll get some drones ready with explosives we can plant. I requisitioned a lot of nasty shit that I’ve got in the armory just for such ocassions.”

Winnie hopped out of her seat and moved away with a quick trot.

“I’m gonna go help my besties!” she said even as she moved away quickly. “I won’t be doing much up here if this is a sneaky thing! Sorry Ralph, love you, hugs and kisses!”

Ralph had turned his head and watched the extremely fit and lithe Winnie moving away, before turning to look back at Xas and Liseth.

Liseth made a light chirping noise and then sat herself down in Winnie’s seat, buckled herself in, and looked to Ralph. Her helmet made her eyes almost brighter.

“This is all rather exciting,” murmured the beautiful doctor, crossing one leg over the other and her space-suit squeaking in the doing of it. “Far more interesting and enjoyable than being called an unmarried spinster and a waste of blood.

“Oh captain, my captain? Please be sure to come in for your physical. I expect you to come around and provide me with some samples. Don’t worry about feeling down, I can always give you something that’ll perk you right up and  assist.”