"Space Pirates" (closed)

[Alice2015]

"Space Pirates"

(Closed to HumanBean)
​

The Transport Ship Venture
In orbit of Phannus 3
Confederated Systems
Beta Quadrant, Sector 26-48-14

The Shuttle increased its distance from the Mothership unpowered until finally Cental Command communicated, "Shuttle 5, you are clear to power your engines."

"Thank you, Central Command," Portia responded, adding, "We'll be back in our berth in 18 hours Standard."

"Maybe plan on 12 hours?" the woman at the Comms aboard the Mothership suggested, reminding Portia, "The Venture departs Phannus in precisely 20 Standard, and last time--"

"Yeah, yeah," Portia cut in, laughing. "Last time we almost had to chase you halfway across the Sector 'cause we were late getting back. But we made it worth it to you to wait, didn't we?"

The other woman laughed. "I don't think you're going to find Covellian chocolates on Phannus 3, and you know there's not much more than sweets that will cause the Admiral to delay departure ... even for you. So, I'd recommend you got back promptly this time around."

"Copy that," Portia said, and as she reached to disconnect, she ended, "Shuttle 5 out."

Looking over her shoulder at the sound of approaching boot falls, Portia said, "Your ship. I'm going to make calls down to the planet. We have to be back in 18 Standard ... 12 if we want to make sure we don't get left here. You remember Yulo 4, I assume?"

She evacuated the Command Chair to be relieved and headed for her quarters. It'd be an hour before they began entering Phannus 3's atmosphere, disrupting their Comms. She made her calls, confirming two deliveries and three pickups before activating the Internal Comms. When the man for whom she needed attention acknowledged her, she said, "Come to my quarters please. We're about to enter the atmosphere."

Portia rose from her desk, crossed from her anteroom to her bedroom, and stripped bare, just in time for the man she'd called to enter her quarters, come to the end of her bed, and drop to his knees between her knees. She leaned her weight back on bent elbows, wrapped her legs around his head, and enjoyed.

Ever since before she was old enough to partake of such delights per her parents' limitations, Portia had driven her fear of planetary reentry from her mind through sexual satisfaction; if she didn't have a mouth on her pussy during this phase of arrival, the anxiety and tension could lead to panic, vomiting, even blacking out. She never quite understood why this phase of space travel disturbed her so much, or why the euphoria of orgasm was sufficient to ease her through the rocking and shaking of passing through the atmosphere. But hey, if it works, right?

Her lover knew just what to do to Portia to lead her to writhe about, cry softly, and eventually jerk spasmodically as ecstasy overtook her anxiety. Her trembling allowed to her ignore the Shuttle's own trembling, and as she came down from her high, the craft's own shaking began to subside. Portia pushed the man's head from between her legs, saying between deeply drawn breaths, "Thanks ... thanks again ... for that."

He knew his work here was done, stood, and left. Portia just lay there several minutes more, her lower legs hanging off the end of the bed as she gently toyed a fingertip around her clit to continue the pleasure. When her breathing and heartbeat had returned close to normal, she went to her mist shower, cleaned up, dried, dressed, and returned to the Bridge. Both of her crewmates -- the one who'd ate her out and the one who'd fuck her later today -- were there, guiding the Shuttle down toward Cargo Transfer Terminal 6.

"Flight Control, Terminal 6, this is Shuttle 5 of the Transport Ship, Venture," Portia said after activating the Comms. "Requesting vector, please."

The two of them talked back and forth for a minute or so, the result of which was her current pilot adjusting the Shuttle's controls to bring them in as instructed. 15 minutes later, they were on the ground, 15 after that they were unloading their cargo, and 5 hours after that, they were being towed to the refueling depot. While that was happening, the third member of the crew got his go-round at Portia's pussy. She preferred having his cock inside her to the other man's because it was so much bigger, and he knew so well how to use it.

After yet another wondrous orgasm, Portia once again mist showered, dressed, and met the two men to head out on the town. The three of them were armed, of course, as Phannus 3's Terminal 6 was not known for it high degree of law and order. They'd only been at this particular occasion once before, but it had been a memorable visit; a bar fight that had turned into a riot had become deadly, and while neither of them had actually had to take a life, each of them had discharged their weapons during the melee.

(Part 2 next.)

 

[Alice2015]

(Part 2)

(OOC: The image I saved on Imgur and linked here for "Betty" -- described in the next line as "a woman with an incredible body" -- failed, likely due to being a copyrighted image. I still have a copy of it on my computer, so I was able to link it to the bottom of this post as an attachment. If you are just now beginning to read our story, you will very often see links for "Betty", but they won't work. Sorry. You'll just have to come back and look at this attachment.)

Portia activated the exit and descent ramp to leave -- but they stopped short at the presence of a woman with an incredible body ... and a weapon standing at the bottom of the ramp. She waved them back into the hold with the weapon, telling them with an easy, calm voice, "I do not wish to kill any or all you, but rest assured, if you do not do as I say, you will all die."

Instinctively, Portia's hand had gone to the butt of her own weapon, but she let it remain in the holster. She studied the woman a moment, then said knowingly, "You're a Betty, aren't you?" When the woman only waggled her weapon again, causing all three to back up farther, Portia reminded the cyborg, "You can't kill a human being without Government or Corporate authorization ... which ... I doubt you have."

The Betty pressed a fingertip to the side of her weapon; a tone and quick flash of a light indicated that it was ready and fully capable of firing at either of the three Humans. Portia chuckled nervously, raising her hands in a casual surrender gesture as she corrected herself, "Okay ... so ... I seem to have been wrong. What, um ... what can we do for you, Betty."

The cyborg ordered them to disarm, Portia did while telling her crewmates to do as well. They set their own weapons aside and backed away from them at the Betty's continued weapon waggling. Then, the cyborg looked out the open hatch and called, "Nyní můžete přijít!"

The Betty turned her attention back to the three shuttle crew, then -- as she attached her sidearm to the clip on her hip -- warned, "I can pull this weapon and discharge three perfectly placed shots in under one Standard second. Please, do not force me to do that. I gain nothing from your deaths, and your deaths mean you gain nothing from my Charge."

A moment later, a beautiful young woman hurried up the ramp into the Shuttle; she was all smiles as she stepped up next to the Betty and said with a joyous tone, "Hi! I'm Rachel. Betty tells me that you're my ride to Olympiana ... yes?"

"Yes, they are transporting you and I to Olympiana 6, Child," the Betty confirmed; she shifted her glare between the three crew one after another, asking with a tone that was a little harder than one typically heard from a cyborg of this model, "Right?"

Portia studied the Betty, then the girl; she looked as though she could be as young as 13 or 14 Standard, though, they would eventually learn that she was actually nearing her 19th Standard. Looking left and right to her crew, then back to the Cyborg, Portia asked expectantly, "And what exactly is our payment for getting the two of you to Olympiana? As a Betty, I'm sure that you understand that this shuttle is not capable of getting you that far. We can do short FTL skips in-system, but ... if you're wanting to get out of Phannus--"

"I am aware," the Betty confirmed. "We will need you to take command of your Mothership and take us--"

Portia laughed aloud, looking to her male crewmen for their reactions before saying to the Cyborg, "What the hell do you think we are ... pirates?

"That is precisely what I think you are, Portia Rheems," the Betty said, showing that she had knowledge of with whom she was talking and hadn't picked out a random crew and shuttle for her hijacking. She continued, "Portia Rheems, daughter of Magnus and Oletta Reems of the Indigo Beta System. Wanted in 14 separate jurisdictions for a variety of crimes, including vandalism, theft, destruction of government property, destruction of Corporation property, assault, assault with a deadly weapon, manslaughter, murder in the third degree, murder in the second degree, multiple murder with special circumstances ... and littering."

Portia just stared at the Cyborg for the longest moment; her heart had been pounding since she'd first seen the armed Betty, but now it was thumping so loud that she could hear it in her ears. After a moment, she said defensively, "I was innocent of that littering charge. I wouldn't do that. That's just ... wrong."

She could see that the humor was lost on the Cyborg, but the girl giggled softly at Portia's claim of innocence on at least that one charge. Rachel practically danced her way up to almost within arms-reach of Portia, asking with obvious excitement, "So ... when're we leaving. I can't wait to see space. I've never been there, ya'know."

Portia shook her head lightly at Rachel's obvious joy. Do you have any idea what's going on here, little girl? She looked to the men, then back to the girl, saying, "Why don't you guys take our ... passenger to the bridge. Show here around. Betty and I will be right behind you." Then looking to the Cyborg, she asked, "If that's okay with you, Betty."

She gave the two men knowing glances -- they understood her I'm working it, give me a moment expression -- and took Rachel deeper into the Shuttle. Once the two of them were alone together, Portia asked the Cyborg, "What the exact and unedited fuck is going on here?"

<<<<<<< >>>>>>>​

Fifteen minutes later, Portia and the Cyborg entered the bridge, with the former commanding, "Get us out of here." She saw the expressions on the men's faces and growled, "Get us out of here ... now"

Ten minutes after that, they'd cleared departure with both the fueling hands and Flight Control, and another ten minutes after that they were breaking through atmo, heading back for the Venture.

 

[HumanBean]

Marcus Walker was once again checking cargo for the drop down to Phannus 3. The profit margin out here in the void could be very small at times. Having something come loose and get damaged or destroyed could set them back months, years, even decades if cryostasis time was considered.

And there was always the chance that the damage extended to the shuttle itself. Legally, Marcus was an Indentured Servant, working off a debt for the loss of one of the Venture's shuttles. He argued that he hadn't been personally responsible for the loss. But the Corporate Court had found him guilty. He'd been indentured for 7 Standards and had 3 more to go after good behavior and already garnished wages.

The intercom on the wall beeped, and the female third of the shuttle's crew said, "Come to my quarters please. We're about to enter the atmosphere."

"On my way, Captain," Marcus said without hesitation. "I just finished checking the load. Three minutes."

He smiled as he headed out of the cargo bay. Of all the punishments he had had to face during his indenture, this was one that he was happy to suffer. Marcus found the door of her quarters open, pushed through, and closed it behind him. Portia was already naked, sitting on the end of the bed.

He studied her as he stepped out of his boots and slipped off his jacket. She was so absolutely perfect, with firm, B-cup titties, a narrow waist, flat belly, and shaved pube. He'd always wished that there was more to them than him simply eating out her pussy on descent days. But Portia was the boss, and if all she wanted from him was a good chewing out, that was what Marcus was going to give her.

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Ten minutes or so later, she cried out in ecstasy as her body trembled from top notch to toes. Marcus knew not to stop until she told him to. He continued licking her clit up and down while the two longest fingers of his upturned hand massaged the front, inner wall of her vagina.

She pushed his head from between her thighs eventually, saying, "Thanks ... thanks again ... for that."

"For you, boss, anything," Marcus said. His cock was hard as a rock, and he so desperately wanted to slip it inside her warm, wet, and ready hole. But in their year or so of working together, that hadn't happened yet. He accepted that it probably wouldn't. Well, unless Vincent was to leave Portia's crew. Then, maybe. Still, he asked hopefully, "Anything more I can do for you, ma'am?"

As usual, there wasn't. He wiped his fingers and face off on a wet towel that was always waiting there for him. He cleaned up, headed down the passageway to his own quarters, whipped out his cock, and took care of his needs. Then, he headed for the bridge. Vincent said nothing to Marcus, despite being well aware of what the other man had and hadn't done.

He dropped into one of the bridge chairs and watched in silence as Phannus 3 revealed itself. They were in the atmosphere now, beyond the dangerous reentry phase of their descent. They flew above the clouds for several more minutes, then broke through them.

Phannus 3 was the most Earth-like planet Marcus had ever been to. At least, that was what people told him. He'd never been to Earth, of course. He didn't know anyone who ever had been to the Human Race's home planet.

Portia arrived and contacted Flight Control for arrival instructions. Half an hour later, they were unloading cargo at Terminal 6. Marcus and Vincent helped with the offload, if you called supervising and giving warnings about the fragility of some of the cases helping. Most of the work was done by those with the same legal status as Marcus himself: indentured.

The three of them were heading off the ship when the sexiest thing Marcus had ever seen intercepted them. Marcus was so instantaneously overwhelmed by her delicious curves and the second skin uniform covering them that he didn't initially even see the weapon she was brandishing.

"I do not wish to kill any or all you," she said as they came to a sudden stop at the top of the ramp, "but rest assured, if you do not do as I say, you will all die."

Only then did Marcus see the gun at her side. Even so, Marcus's eyes went back to the perfection: firm tits, thin waist, long legs, and, oh yeah, there! The fabric (PVC, lycra, latex rubber, whatever) and the way it fit her through her crotch didn't reveal a camel toe, but Marcus imagined that he was seeing the swell of her womanly feature.

"You're a Betty, aren't you?" Portia asked the woman.

Again, Marcus's brain was a bit slow on the uptake. When he finally comprehended his boss's question, he looked to the woman again. He quickly realized that the absolute perfection wasn't the work of a benevolent God. It was the work of the Pyrolon Corporation, the makers of the universe's most advanced cybernetic organisms.

As Portia and the machine talked about what the Betty could and couldn't do, Marcus's eyes had returned to examining the cyborg. He'd been with sexbots before, of course. Most men had been. Some had only ever been with mechanical sex providers. But he'd never been with a Betty. In fact, Marcus wasn't even sure whether or not the Betty models were employed in the skin trade.

The two females (?) finished their confrontational conversation. The cyborg looked back the way she'd come and called, "Nyní můžete přijít!"

Marcus didn't recognize the dialect at all. It didn't even occur to him that it might have been an entirely different language. Out here in this Quadrant, only one language still existed: Old Earth English. There were as many dialects of it as there were settled planetary bodies. But for the most part, anyone from any place could speak fairly well with anyone from any other place. But these words went right over Marcus's head.

For the third time today, Marcus found himself staring at the beauty of another female. The young thing said, "Hi! I'm Rachel. Betty tells me that you're my ride to Olympiana ... yes?"

Marcus chuckled, thinking Fuck, are you lost or what? But beside him, Vincent elbowed him.

The cyborg confirmed, "Yes, they are transporting you and I to Olympiana 6, Child."

The cyborg eyed them each, saying, "Right?"

Marcus couldn't see Portia's face, as she was standing a bit ahead of him. He looked to the other male. Vincent was inconspicuously shaking his head. Marcus wondered Are you saying 'no', we're not going that way? Or 'no, don't react?'

"And what exactly is our payment for getting the two of you to Olympiana?" Portia asked.

As the two conversed, Marcus was looking the girl up and down. Even though she was what men like him would describe as legal, he couldn't imagine that she was. As Portia was thinking, she looked no older than her mid-teens. But that was one of the peculiarities of life out here in the Beyond-Earth Universe. Environmental conditions and genetic engineering could cause an individual to look years older or younger than they actually were.

As Portia and the cyborg talked, the latter said, "We will need you to take command of your Mothership and take us--"

Marcus's boss laughed. "What the hell do you think we are ... pirates?

"That is precisely what I think you are, Portia Rheems," the cyborg said.

Now, Marcus knew that Portia had had some brushes with the law. Hell, all three of them had. Most of the people Marcus knew had had problems with the law, either Governmental or Corporate. But as the cyborg listed Portia's offenses, Marcus's eyes widened in shock. He'd had no idea that his boss was such a bad ass!

"I was innocent of that littering charge," Portia countered. "I wouldn't do that. That's just ... wrong."

To Vincent, Marcus whispered, "That's wrong?"

"So ... when're we leaving," the girl asked after bouncing up to the Shuttle's Captain. "I can't wait to see space. I've never been there, ya'know."

I'm sure there's a lot of places you haven't been, Marcus thought, including my bed. He was dying to know how old the girl was in Standard years. There weren't a lot of crimes out here in the Universe that carried the death sentence. One of them, though, was sexual intercourse with a minor. It was a legal tradition that went back thousands of years, meant to protect the innocent. It was the reason that Marcus and most smart men required a DNA test before they ever had sex with a woman who didn't look at least 30 Standard.

"Why don't you guys take our ... passenger to the bridge," Portia told the pair of men. "Show her around."

Marcus looked to Vincent again for some sort of guidance. His brain was screaming Pirates? Take control of the Venture? What the fuck? What's going on?

But Vincent only half turned and gestured the girl to follow. He walked off.

"Betty and I will be right behind you," Portia told Marcus.

"Are you sure about this, Boss?" Marcus asked. But he got no response other than a nod. He backed away, again ogling the cyborg's body. She (or 'it'?) turned enough that Marcus got a look at her tight little ass. Reaching down, he rearranged his cock's position before he turned and ran to catch up with Vincent and Rachel.

 

[HumanBean]

Vincent led Rachel toward the bridge. She asked questions almost faster than he could answer them. As with Marcus, he would realize quickly that the girl had never been aboard a space-going vessel before.

Unlike Marcus, Vincent wasn't having a difficult time with his cock or eyes. Rachel was a beautiful woman. And she was young. And there was a possibility that she was innocent. It was normal for human males to yearn such women, of course. But Vincent's life was driven by his urge to deposit his seed inside ever young, warm, wet pussy he came across. Plus, he preferred his women more mature and more experienced.

They reached the bridge, where Vincent retrieved a Trainee Seat from a storage closet. It had a powerfully magnetic base. He put it next to his seat at Navigation for Rachel to sit on.

Marcus arrived, continuing his ogling of the young woman. The man hurried off and returned with a DNA scanning tool. Vincent knew what Marcus wanted to know: are you old enough for me to fuck without possibly being castrated, then executed? Vincent nearly sent the man away. But maybe it would be good to know this little bit of information?

Portia eventually arrived, telling them, "Get us out of here ... now."

"On our way," Vincent confirmed as he dropped into the navigator's chair.

In just a few minutes, they were lifting off. They'd completed their deliveries just fine. But they hadn't completed their pickups. Vincent knew that that was going to be a problem once they got to the Venture. Or was it?

They were going to commit piracy. It wasn't as if Vincent didn't think it possible. The Venture only had a crew of 36. And right now, most of them were down on the planet. Those who weren't doing business were drinking, fucking, playing games, seeing medical specialists, shopping, whatever.

No, the really hard part was going to be getting from Phannus to Olympiana. It was what Vincent would call a bit more than a tad bit of distance. Most people out this far in the galaxy had only ever heard of Olympiana because it was one of the first Earth-like planets ever settled by Humans. And that had been long, long ago. It was ancient history to Vincent. Maybe not as ancient as Earth and Humanity itself. But still a long fucking time ago.

Vincent stood, pointed a finger into Rachel's face, and warned, "Sit here and don't touch anything."

He looked to Marcus, saying, "Take Nav for a moment." Then, putting a finger in his face, too, he repeated with regards to Rachel, "Don't touch anything."

He looked to Portia, asking, "Boss, can I talk to you a moment?"

Vincent looked to the cyborg and gestured her to accompany Portia to a corner of the bridge. When they arrived, he activated a 3D image that hovered over the image generator below it. The image was a good 2 meters across and was a depiction of the Milky Way galaxy in its entirety. He tapped at a keyboard, causing three dots to begin flashing within the display.

Reaching both hands into the three-dimensional image and then separating them, Vincent zoomed the image in. About 50% of the galaxy disappeared off image. The three flashing icons became more obvious. Vincent reached a single arm through the Milky Way with his index finger extended toward one of the flashing dots. It was at about his waist level on the far side of the sphere from him.

"This is us now, at Phannus, in Sector 26-48-14," he said. "We're essentially halfway between Earth and the most distant, human-explored star system in the galaxy."

He pulled his hand back and pointed to the flashing dot that was almost touching his knee. "This is Earth, at 0-0-0."

He paused, glancing at the third dot. It was higher than both the Earth and Phannus dots and more to his left than the latter. If you were to draw lines between the three, the Olympiana dot would be roughly the 90-degree corner of a right triangle.

"That's where you want to go ... Sector 14-24-19," Vincent said. "It's better than half the distance from where we are now to Earth."

He paused, looking for a reaction. He continued, "Do you know how many ships travel from way out here all the way to Earth each Standard? None! You know why? It's not because there's nothing left there for us, even though that's probably true."

Honestly, very few common people knew much about Earth anymore. It had been exhausted of resources thousands of years ago. It had been poisoned and otherwise polluted beyond livability. The population had decreased by millions, then billions. Vincent didn't know if anyone was still alive there.

He continued, "It's because it's so fucking far away." Gesturing between the dots, Vincent continued, "No one has a reason to go to Earth anymore. And honestly, no one has a reason to go to Olympiana, at least not from here. It's just too far, and anything you might want out here, you can get out here. There's very little trade at distances more than maybe 6, 7 sectors anymore. Olympiana is 14 sectors straight line. But we can't get to it straight line."

Vincent tapped a key on the keyboard. The Phannus and Olympiana dots were connected by lines representing the route that the Venture would have to take. It zigzagged all about. He told them, "This is the course we have to take. To avoid astronomical dangers. To avoid lawless regions. I mean, you want us to steal the Venture, to become pirates. But the people out in some of these sectors? They're fucking murderous rapist psychopaths. We can't get anywhere near them.

"This route turns out 14 sectors into 20, maybe more," Vincent said. He looked to Portia, then to the cyborg. "So, I have to ask, what exactly is the reason for us to take this risk? What does Rachel want in Olympiana?"

He looked to the girl again. Rachel might not have been his cup of tea when it came to women. But Vincent knew that there were plenty of men out there who would give up a small moon just to put their cock inside such a beauty just once. He asked, "Or maybe the question is: who in Olympiana wants Rachel?"

Vincent looked to the Betty again. He let his gaze fall conspicuously on her womanly features. They were artificial, of course. But they were perfect in the opinion of most men. And Betty wasn't just a beautiful body. She was a Betty, a top of the line cyborg with more capabilities than any cyborg before her. Vincent asked suspiciously, "Or maybe someone in Olympiana wants you."

 

[Alice2015]

Rachel peppered Vincent with questions all along their route from the lower deck entrance to the Shuttle to the upper level, much more forward bridge. "How fast does it travel...? How big is it...? Does everyone have their own bed...? Who cooks for you...? Can I cook for you...? Where is the kitchen...? Are there other people...?"

She got answers for some of her questions, answers that more often than not simply led to more questions. Rachel was still shooting them at Vincent on the bridge when Portia and Betty arrived, ordering, "Get us out of here ... now."

Vincent got Rachel a seat near the Navigation Station, leading to yet another inquiry assault; most of her questions began with what's that do? or what did you just do? Occasionally, she understood something without asking, a result that got more and more common as time went on.

After a while, Vincent left Rachel in Marcus's care, and while he was able to answer her questions, too, he seemed to spend most of his time looking at Rachel's body and not the Nav panel. Once they'd broken out of Phannus's atmosphere and into the void, Rachel looked Marcus in the eyes, smiled, and asked softly, "Did you want to use the scanner on me to determine my age ... because you want to have sexual relations with me?"

She paused, intrigued by his reaction. She hadn't let him use the scanner on her, not because she didn't want him to know her true age was nearly 19 Standard but because there were other things that a DNA scan would tell Marcus about her that Rachel didn't think she should share. She smiled, asking, "Is that why your friend told you not to touch me?"

She reached out a hand, laying it on Marcus's thigh intimately close to his crotch; there was less than an inch between her pinky and his cock, which was becoming more obvious as it swelled toward stiffness. She smiled wider, whispering, "You friend only said that you can touch me."

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Behind them, at the 3D display, Vincent was asking the Human and Cyborg females, "So, I have to ask, what exactly is the reason for us to take this risk? What does Rachel want in Olympiana?" He then looked at Rachel and asked, "Or maybe the question is: who in Olympiana wants Rachel?"

Again, Vincent's eyes found a wondrous female shape, this time the cyborg's. "Or maybe someone in Olympiana wants you."

"You don't have need to know, Vincent," Portia said firmly. She could see in his reaction that he didn't agree with that, and she knew that if she wanted his full participation in what was to come, she had to give him more than that. "What I can tell you is ... that none of us has ever transported a cargo this valuable before. If we get to Olympiana with these two safe and unharmed, the reward would be more than either of us could ever imagine. They'd give us each a Venture-class transport ship with a full crew and holds filled with anything we wanted to transport."

She thought about what she'd want more than just a ship and money and added, "They might even give us immunity for our past misdeeds."

Portia looked to the 3D image again. Traveling from Sector 26-48-14 to 14-24-19 could take as much as a dozen Standard Years. Cryogenic statis could make it feel like a few months, of course, but there would have to be at least one crew member awake at all times to deal with emergencies. The Venture normally had one or more animated crew, of course, but that was because there were typically 35-45 crew; right now there were 36. If they pulled this hijacking/piracy off, it would be just the three of them. Well, 5 actually, if you counted Betty and the girl.

"Marcus!" Portia called. He practically leapt out of the Navigational Station's seat, and when he turned, Portia was certain she'd seen the girl's hand in his lap. Portia casually gestured him their way with curling fingers. As he was coming her way, she asked the Cyborg, "Betty, can you give my crew and I a moment to discuss this, please. Oh, and ... do you prefer a different designation other than Betty?"

The Cyborg smiled. She didn't have true emotions, not like a Human Being. But the programming within her was so very close to Human thinking and experience, that it was virtually impossible to detect a difference. So, it pleased the Cyborg that a Human Being would care to ask her by which name she preferred to be addressed. "I like Betty, thank you. And yes, my Charge and I could vacate the area to allow the three of you to talk. If you would be kind enough to--"

"Compartment 4-26," Portia interrupted, knowing that the Cyborg was in search of berthing quarters for her and the girl. "You know how to find it from here?"

"Of course," Betty said without hesitation. She playfully touched a fingertip to her temple, saying, "I know a Venture-class Mothership and its Shuttles like the back of my hand." She called to the girl, "Rachel. Let us rest."

The girl, who had leapt up with Marcus, danced across the Bridge to her guardian, saying, "Okay." The two guests started for the Bridge's exit, but the Cyborg stopped, turning back to look between the three before saying to Marcus, "Come with me, please."

Rachel had already left the Bridge, followed by Betty and then Marcus. In the passageway, the Cyborg stopped suddenly, turning to end up with her face just inches from his ... and her quickly pulled sidearm pressing into his crotch. She gave him a moment to realize the threat and, if he chose to, react. Then, calmly, Betty said, "If you ever touch my Charge in an intimate or sexual way ... or allow my Charge to touch you in an intimate or sexual way ... I will rip your testicles out of you with my own fingernails--"

As she was talking, Betty raised her free hand and with just a thought caused her nails to extend a full inch longer as if she were a feline extending its claws. She curled her thumb and all her fingers except her index finger into a fist, rolled it over, and reached her hand up to run the nail from his Adam's Apple out to his chin. Then, rolling her hand over again, she touched the sharp tip to his bottom lip, pulling it out gently in what might have seemed intimate or sexual to one person while scary as fuck to the next.

She jerked the finger back, causing him to flinch as the sharp nail cut the soft inside of his lower lip before it flopped back in place against his teeth. Betty finished, "...before skinning your cock ... then tearing it off and feeding it to you." She studied him a moment, then whispered, "Understand?"

After he reacted in whichever way he might, Betty looked to her left, to the sidearms that she'd taken off the three of them earlier. "Please let your Captain know that I have no problem with you being armed once more. In fact, it might become very necessary in the near future."

 

[HumanBean]

"Did you want to use the scanner on me to determine my age..." Rachel asked Marcus, "because you want to have sexual relations with me?"

The crewman's eyes widened at the blunt question. He wasn't expecting that at all. Rachel smiled, asking, "Is that why your friend told you not to touch me?"

"No, no, that's not, no, he wasn't," Marcus stumbled over his tongue. Then his mouth fell open and he flinched as Rachel's hand found his thigh, ever so close to his already swollen cock. "Your friend only said that you can't touch me."

Marcus tried to inconspicuously shift his posture to relieve the growing pressure in his shorts as his cock reached full rigidity. Then, he literally leapt from his seat as Portia called, "Marcus!"

"I wasn't touching her!" he blurted out without thinking. Marcus saw the confusion in his boss's expression. He was about to explain himself, but didn't as Portia gestured him to join her. He intentionally took the long way, circling around behind the command chair. When out of sight, Marcus quickly readjusted his cock's position. He was so fucking hard that it hurt.

"Betty, can you give my crew and I a moment to discuss this, please," Portia asked.

Marcus looked to Vincent as Portia was busy speaking to the cyborg about her name preferences and her and Rachel's berthing assignment. In whisper, he swore, "I didn't touch her."

Portia turned back to the two men. Marcus thought that maybe he'd escaped punishment, until the Cyborg told him, "Come with me, please."

Betty turned and left. Marcus didn't immediately move to follow. Instead, he looked to Portia, then to Vincent. He asked meekly, "Do I have to go with her? She scares me."

"She should," Vincent said, smirking devilishly. "If you knew half of what I knew about the Betty model."

"You're not helping, asshole," Marcus said. He drew a deep breath, released it, then said, "If I don't come back, delete my browsing history." He looked to the other man, then clarified (or didn't?), "Not the porn. The other stuff."

Out in the hallway, Marcus was opening his mouth to repeat again that he hadn't touched Rachel. Suddenly Betty stopped, spun, and grasped his manhood. Or so he immediately thought. Looking down, though, he found the weapon pressing against his cock and balls.

"If you ever touch my Charge in an intimate or sexual way..." Betty began her threat.

Marcus didn't really hear everything the cyborg said. His heart was pounding so hard that he thought it was going to bust out of his chest. When her fingernail cut through the soft meat on the inside of his lip, he whimpered softly.

Betty whispered, "Understand?"

"Yes, yes! Oh my God, yes!" he said quickly. "I didn't touch her. I won't touch her, ever!"

Betty gave Marcus a long moment to consider what she'd said before she indicated the holsters and sidearms. She told him the crew should be armed for what was coming. Marcus whispered, "What's coming?"

She didn't answer, instead turning and walking away. Marcus was pretty sure that his balls had crawled back up into his torso. Yet as she departed, he couldn't help but scope out the cyborg's perfect ass as it sashayed away. She almost shot you off! he reminded his cock as it again began hardening. How the fuck are you getting still getting hard!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx​

Bridge:

"I understand what you're saying about need to know, boss," Vincent said as they waited for Marcus to return. "In the past, you've always had out back. But not this time."

He checked the doorway. Still no third crewman. "You're talking about mutiny. Piracy. We might have to weapons. That means the possibility of killing. Boss, I've never killed anyone before. You know that.

"I heard what the machine said about you, boss," Vincent continued. "You know I respect you and trust you enough to never have asked. But I--"

He paused. He didn't know how to say what he wanted to say without sounding like he didn't trust her anymore. He did! He just needed to know more about her or about the job or both.

 

[Alice2015]

The passageway outside the bridge:

Rachel couldn't hear the beginning of the whispered interaction taking place between asked Betty and Marcus, but she was all but certain what it was about, particularly when she realized that her Protector's weapon was no longer on the clip at her waist. She did, however, hear the man proclaim, "Yes, yes! Oh my God, yes! I didn't touch her. I won't touch her, ever!"

Rachel's lower lip pouted out for Marcus's benefit, but it didn't look as though he looked her direction. The Cyborg eventually turned away, clipping her sidearm again as she headed to and past the girl, grasping her arm to pull her with her as she said, "Come, Rachel. You need rest."

Rachel let the Cyborg drag her away, peeking back over her shoulder at Marcus as he just stood there watching; she wondered, Is he looking at my butt ... or hers ... or both? She giggled softly, then raised a hand to her lips, blowing him a kiss.

"Stop that," the Cyborg said softly, tugging harder at the girl's arm. "You are only going to get that man hurt."

"How?" Rachel asked innocently.

"I will hurt him," Betty answered simply.

The girl continued to giggle, looking back once more before they turned a corner out of his view.


On the bridge:

"You're talking about mutiny," Vincent told Portia, continuing, "Piracy."

"I am, yes," she responded firmly.

"We might have to use weapons," he continued. "That means the possibility of killing. Boss, I've never killed anyone before. You know that."

"I do," Portia said, presuming that what Vincent had told her in the past was accurate. "And if I can prevent bloodshed, I will. We have non-lethal weapons in the armory. We can arm ourselves with those."

Vincent brought up what the Cyborg had said about her criminal history. That was something she wished hadn't come up. Portia had done her absolute best over the years to hide her past from the people with whom she worked, particularly those with whom she spent time in bed. But it was inevitable that Vincent and Marcus would learn more about her, she guessed.

Vincent began, "You know I respect you and trust you enough to never have asked. But I--"

"I won't talk about what I may or may not have done in the past," Portia said firmly. "I will tell you, though ... that while some of what she told you was a little ... out of context..."

She wasn't sure if she was helping her case or not, but continued, "Some of those things ... they were self-defense, not that the law saw them that way--" She stopped when she saw Marcus heading back onto the bridge. When he rejoined them, Portia said firmly, "Here are the facts ... and ... and you can make up your own minds..."

She contemplated her words, then said, "If we can get that girl ... Rachel ... if we can get her to Olympiana safely ... we will be looking at a payday like nothing you could ever imagine. You'll have enough money to go anywhere you want ... money for all the women and booze and drugs and ... anything you want, for the rest of your life.

"The only way we can do it, though," she continued, "is by taking the Venture. Admiral Korlitz isn't going to alter course for Olympiana on the word of a Betty. And between us, we don't have the Credits necessary to hire a long range FTL ship that'll get us there. To be honest, despite the fact that we refueled the Venture recently, we're probably going to need to do so again before we get to our destination. A fresh reactor will only get us 12 to 15 sectors, not the 20 that it might be to reach Olympiana.

"We might have to do some work along the way," Portia continued. She cleared her throat, hesitant to say what was on her mind. But she went ahead, "Once Korlitz reports the theft of the Venture ... and yes, he will report it because we're not killing everyone..." She was looking at Vincent as she said that, knowing that he'd been wondering how far she would go to get the ship. She continued, "...we won't be able to find legitimate work, unless we can manufacture some new papers and trackers for the Venture.

"It's easy enough to pull the current transponders ... change the paperwork, even paint the hull differently and change out some exterior equipment to alter the profile. But if we get stopped and don't have a working transponder, we'll get caught, arrested ... likely sentenced to a mining asteroid or moon for the rest of our then-shortened lives. I don't want that any more than either of you do.

"So, what I'm saying is," she continued, "Since we're already pirates ... for stealing the Venture...""

She didn't need to finish for them to understand.

 

[HumanBean]

On the bridge:

Portia spoke with Vincent about trying to prevent bloodshed. She sounded sincere. Still, in the back of his mind, he remembered what Betty had said about Portia's criminal past: assault, assault with a deadly weapon, manslaughter, murder in the third degree, murder in the second degree, multiple murder with special circumstances. Those special circumstances were of particular interest. What exactly did that mean?

She spoke of how some of that violence had been out of context. Again, Vincent wondered what the fuck does that mean? In what context were these things NOT a big deal? Oh, Vincent had been involved in violent situations before. He was a guy living in a rough world, working a rough job, and hanging out with rough people. Of course he was going to get into fights.

Sometimes those fights got very violent, potentially fatally so. He could easily have killed someone by now. Maybe the only difference between him and Portia was that she already had killed someone, and he was simply yet to.

Marcus rejoined them, and Portia explained the situation: "If we can get that girl ... Rachel ... if we can get her to Olympiana safely ... we will be looking at a payday like nothing you could ever imagine. You'll have enough money to go anywhere you want ... money for all the women and booze and drugs and ... anything you want, for the rest of your life.

"I like that idea," Marcus said. "I like women and booze and drugs and anything I want. And I like the idea of having it for the rest of my life. My only question is: isn't there another way?"

"The only way we can do it," Portia continued, "is by taking the Venture."

She talked about the Admiral and the need for a long range FTL ship. She also pointed out, "A fresh reactor will only get us 12 to 15 sectors, not the 20 that it might be to reach Olympiana."

"So, how do we deal with that?" Vincent asked. "I mean, TDTR reactors can't just be picked up at the corner grocery store."

"We might have to do some work along the way," Portia continued.

When she paused, Vincent knew there was more of that criminal activity coming. "You mean more pirating."

"...we won't be able to find legitimate work," she told them, "unless we can manufacture some new papers and trackers for the Venture."

"I could get that done for a standard cargo transport," Vincent told her. "But a Venture-class, multi-Shuttle cargo vessel? I mean, they kind of stick out. And what about transponders?"

"It's easy enough to pull the current transponders," Portia told them. The men knew that, of course. She talked about the rest of what needed to be done: change the paperwork, paint the hull, and alter the exterior. "But if we get stopped and don't have a working transponder..."

That Portia didn't have to tell them either. The first thing illegal cargo transporters did was pull their ships' transponders. And the first thing the Customs guys did when a transport docked was check for those transponders.

"So," Vincent prompted. "What are you saying?"

"So, what I'm saying is," she continued, "Since we're already pirates ... for stealing the Venture...""

"Fuck," Vincent murmured.

He turned away, walking slowly to the Nav Station to check their position. While Shuttle 5 had been on the surface, the Mothership had circled around to the backside of Phannus 3. At their current speed, they had about 40 minutes until the auto-docking pulled them right into their berth. He dropped into the seat and spun it to look at the other two.

"No one dies," he said firmly. "Taking the Venture. No one dies. We know all of these guys. Most of them are friends."

"Well," Marcus murmured.

"Okay, most of them are okay guys that you don't want to punch every time you see them," Vincent corrected. Marcus shrugged and nodded in agreement. He looked Portia hard in the eyes, stressing, "No one dies! We do this with non-lethal weapons only. If you're thinking that we carry our pistols, I'm out. Flash grenades, pulse guns, knock-out gas. We disable and bind. No killing, no maiming."

"What about help?" Marcus asked. He looked between the two with an expectant expression. "I mean, we can take the Venture just the three of us, and we can fly her just the three of us. But if shit breaks down, we need mechanics, electricians, computer techs." He paused, then asked, "Don't we?"

 

[Alice2015]

On the bridge:

"No one dies," Vincent said firmly. "Taking the Venture. No one dies. We know all of these guys. Most of them are friends."

Portia said without hesitation, "No one dies." To emphasize her point, she began unbuckling the holster fixing her dual pistols to her thighs. She turned and dropped the weapons into a storage drawer, then turned and gave Vincent a gesture meant to say See?

"What about help?" Marcus asked. He inquired about bringing in others on the heist of the Venture.

"No," Portia said firmly. "Absolutely not." She saw the reaction from the men, then -- looking at Marcus -- explained, "I know that when you look at Betty, all you see is tits and ass. But inside that thing is a brain filled with information that far surpasses the combined memory storage of the Venture and all of her Shuttles combined. She's stronger than the two of you put together. That how the Betties were designed. She can work in heat that would melt you down, in near vacuum should we have a hull breach.

"We don't need anyone else," she said with a firm, confident tone. "Not right now. Maybe later, after we've established new ID for the ship ... papers, transponders, computer records. Plus ... Betty doesn't take a cut of what he get at the end, and anyone we bring on does."

An alarm sounded on the Navigation Console, drawing Portia to it. "Auto-docking has taken over. The Venture will take care of the rest. If we are going to do this, we have to do it while most of the crew are on the planet."

Portia tapped some icons, replacing the 3D image of the Milky Way that they'd been studying before with one of the Venture. She studied it a moment, telling the guys, "Shuttles 6, 7, and 9 are missing. 6 was making a deliver. 7 was going to Casino Town, and 9 was going to that resort on the other side of the planet from where we were. I'm willing to be there aren't more than six crew left on the Venture."

She turned to look at the men, then asked, "Are we doing this or not?" She got the answer she hoped for, telling them, "Get rid of those guns and load up three packs with non-lethal. Put them in those medium-sized canvas cargo bags to hide what they are for now and hide them in the #7 Lounge. We'll do a survey of the ship, find out who's onboard still, and start taking people out--"

Portia caught Vincent's glance and clarified, "Without bloodshed."

 

[HumanBean]

On the bridge:

Vincent watched in silence as Portia shed her death-dealing firearm, telling him, "No one dies."

"What about help?" Marcus asked.

"No," Portia said firmly. "Absolutely not."

The two men listened as she explained about Betty was so much more than just eye candy. It didn't surprise either of them that the cyborg was more than just the newest target of their masturbatory fantasies. Neither of them had specifically known of the Betties themselves. But they each knew that the latest cyborgs, regardless of model, were more often than not far more than they'd appeared.

For Marcus, of course, Betty was his second most recent target of his spanking the monkey moments. Despite having told the cyborg that he'd keep his hands to himself with regard to her charge, Marcus still had designed on spending some quality time between the sheets with the young, tight, sexy Rachel. He just had to figure out how to do it without then having his gonads and skinned cock fed to him.

Portia announced that the auto-docking had begun with the Venture. The men had expected that 3 of the shuttles would still be gone. Marcus had been contemplating a visit to the southern continent's resort before this thing with the girl and Olympiana came up. And Vincent had a bit of a gambling bug in his system. It was the reason he rarely had two Credits to rub together.

"Are we doing this or not?" Portia asked.

The two males looked at one another for a moment. Marcus shrugged. Vincent looked back to the boss, repeated the shrug, and said simply, "Yeah."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
​

Shuttle 5 completed its auto-docking procedure without a hitch. Vincent opened the hatch to find Rex Handley standing in the passageway with a tablet in one hand and a beer in the other. He sucked from the latter and handed the former to Vincent. He growled, "Check your own fucking shuttle in."

As the man turned to leave, Vincent asked, "What's with you?"

Rex turned again and began a rambling, semi-intoxicated rant about how he'd been stuck on duty by the Admiral for some petty infraction from almost a year ago that had yet to result in punishment. Vincent asked, "So, you're here. Who else is?"

Rex named a handful of crew members without hesitation. It was pretty typical for those left behind at a port call to gather together early for a bitch session. Rex knew every name and current work-station.

Vincent returned to Shuttle 5's interior, found Portia and Marcus, and said with determination, "We do this now. Right now. There's almost no one here. Rex says one Shuttle Crew is returning in two hours to make a delivery with Shuttle 2. We need to do this before they get back. There are 6 people on board now. Lieutenant Caldwell is the highest-ranking officer on board, and he's a push over. But Commander Wu is returning with the Shuttle Crew, and he's the type to whip up the troops and cause us some problems."

 

[Alice2015]

Compartment 4-26 (a bit earlier than the above post):

Portia rapped a knuckle on the berthing compartment's door, drawing Betty to it. She told the Cyborg, "We're about to dock with the Venture. I have agreed to the use of non-lethal weapons only. Vincent insisted on it, and although he didn't specifically say so, I think Marcus would have demanded on it, too. They both have friends--"

"You are wondering whether I am truly capable of killing a Human Being, Captain," Betty cut in knowingly, continuing, "Yes. My mission parameters with regards to Miss Rachel's safety permit me to kill a Human Being as I see necessary." She paused, then added, "However, if you desire that I conform to your doctrine of non-lethal force only, I will accede to your request."

"If all those words are your way of saying you won't kill anyone," Portia translated, "Thank you."

Noticing that Portia was no longer carrying her potentially lethal weapons and was instead wearing a holster with non-lethal counterparts, Betty unclipped her own killing weapon and put it in a drawer nearby. She asked, "Will you provide me with an appropriate weapon, Captain?"

"Yes, of course," Portia answered.

She looked about the small room that acted as an anteroom to the attached sleeping room. It wasn't the lavish suite enjoyed by the Admiral, but it was far more than the shared berthing compartments enjoyed by the Common Crew on either the Mothership or any of its 14 Shuttles. Portia asked, "And where is Miss Rachel?"

"I suggested she take a mist shower and go to bed, Captain," Betty answered. "I then told her to hydrate and gave her water laced with a sedative."

"What?" Portia asked with surprise.

"I see no reason that she be up and aware of what might be ahead for us, Captain," Betty said. "I hope you have no issue with this."

Portia hadn't expected the Cyborg to drug her Charge into unconsciousness, but she also understood the reason behind it. "No, I have no issue with that. If this goes as I'm hoping, we'll take the Venture and be out of here within the hour, with Sleeping Beauty still sacked out in her rack. If things don't go as I'm hoping, then I hope that we will be able to retreat back here ... and Rachel will still be right where we need her while we figure out another plan."

"I'm wondering," Portia began, "About your participation in what's--"

"I will assist you in taking control of the Venture in whatever way you feel necessary and helpful," the Cyborg filled in. "I brought this to you, Captain." Betty hesitated, then clarified, "More accurately, I forced you into this. You tell me what to do, and I will do it."

Portia nodded her head absently, finally saying, "Okay ... well ... check on your girl there, and meet us at the air lock."

Portia headed out and arrived at the Shuttle's exit hatch just as Vincent was returning, telling them, "We do this now. Right now."

He told them about how there were only six crew on board and the most senior officer was Lieutenant Caldwell. "He's a push over. But Commander Wu is returning with the Shuttle Crew, and he's the type to whip up the troops and cause us some problems."

Betty came up behind them as they were checking their weapons. They were each carrying a Pulse Pistol and a Pulse Rifle, as well as a belt with both Shock Grenades and Knockout Gas. Portia dug the Emergency Breathers out of the bag Vincent had packed, asking Betty, "Do you even need one of these in the case of gas?"

"No, Captain," the Cyborg answered. "Might I make a suggestion?"

"Of course," Portia responded. "Regale us with your ideas."

Betty told them what she had to offer, and hey incorporated it into the plan. Portia flipped the safety on her pistol, returned it to the holster, armed the rifle, too, and said, "Okay. Let's go be pirates ... and steal us a ship."

 

[HumanBean]

Upon the return of Betty, Marcus asked with concern, "Where's Rachel?"

He was concerned about the girl's safety, and rightfully so, he thought. This entire endeavor was about getting her safely from Phannus to Olympiana, after all.

It would have been nice to be able to ogle the beauty some more, too, of course. But when he was told that Rachel was safely put away, he moved on.

Portia agreed with Vincent's assessment that they needed to act quickly. The Cyborg said, "Might I make a suggestion?"

"Of course," Portia responded. "Regale us with your ideas."

"I can remotely access Venture's systems," Betty explained. "I can tell you precisely where the crew members are at any one moment."

"Can you shut systems down?" Vincent asked.

"Yes, of course," the Cyborg answered.

"And make it look like routine maintenance?"

Again, Betty responded, "Yes, of course."

Vincent continued his inquiry, though, with, "And make it apoear as though a current crew member is making the maintenance request. If the AI thinks it's a hack..."

"I can use the ID of the crew member in that section," Betty said.

Vincent dug into the bag of goodies again. He withdrew communications headsets and handed them out.

"You keep us informed of where the crew are and what our proximity to them is," Vincent said to Betty. He then handed out night vision goggles, saying, "Then you kill the lights just before we attack, but you only kill them in that vicinity."

Marcus started to ask, "Why not just--"

"Take down the lights every where now?" Vincent cut in.

He looked at Portia and could see in her expression that she knew the answer. She knew more about the Venture and how it worked than just about anyone else in the crew.

Still, he answered the question, "Because it will alert the crew still out there that there is a problem before we get to them. Even more, though, it will alert Venture's AI that's there is a problem. But if Betty here shuts down just one compartment or section at a time and tells the AI--"

"Maintenance," Marcus filed in. Got it."

They all finished donning their headsets and Comms. Vincent handed out teflon wrist bindings as he asked, "Betty, so, where they all at?"

He was eager to both get this started and get this over.

 

[Alice2015]

Portia noted Marcus's concern for Rachel and gave him a sharp look. Whether it was the reason for him moving on or not she couldn't know, but she needed his mind on the job at hand.

Vincent ran through his thoughts on the plan to take control of the Venture. Portia had to admit that while she'd thought she had a good idea of what needed to happen next, Vincent was even a step ahead of her. Betty confirmed her ability to play her roll, and they equipped themselves as necessary.

"Betty, so, where they all at?" Vincent asked.

Portia began to ask, "Are you already--"

"Connected to the Venture's Command and Control Network, Captain?" Betty interrupted, knowing the question coming. "Yes. The nearest crew member..." She ran through the locations of all six Crew still aboard the Mothership; to be precise, two of them were on a Shuttle, preparing it for a delivery set for several hours from now.

"Wait, what?" Portia interrupted when Betty identified where the currently most senior Officer was. "Lieutenant Caldwell is where?"

"Crew Compartment 2-12," Betty answered, expanding her answer with, "The same location as Crew Member Carla Korlitz."

"The Admiral's quarters," Portia said, laughing as she added, "And the Admiral's wife! I'd heard rumors that she was ... but with Caldwell?" She laughed again, demanding, "I'm taking the two of them. You three, can you handle the others?" To Betty, Portia said, "I won't need you to kill the power at Carla's berthing compartment. I'll just need you to unlock the door if it's locked."

"It is," Betty responded regarding the lock, adding, "But I will unlock it remotely at your signal." The Cyborg looked between the men, saying, "It appears that I am all yours."

They split up, with the guys and Betty heading aft and Portia heading forward alone; Caldwell and Carla were the only Crew -- well, Crew and the Admiral's trophy wife -- who were forward of Shuttle 5's berth. The Venture operated with a very small crew for its size -- just 36 Crew aboard a vessel over 3,000 meters in length -- so in the past it had often been easy to walk the full length of the transport without bumping into another Crew member. That was obviously true when they were traveling a long distance at FTLS and most of the crew was in stasis.

But still, it seemed eerie to Portia now to be walking through the Venture now and neither see other people nor hear work taking place. The transport wasn't exactly the newest of ships -- the Crew had recently celebrated the crate's 40th birthday with one helluva party -- so there was almost always some sort of corrective or preventative maintenance taking place somewhere. A good deal of it was performed by robotic units; they were nothing as advanced as a Betty, of course, which were extremely expensive and too rare to waste on servicing a 40-year-old Venture-class transport.

Arriving outside the Admiral's stateroom, Portia tapped her earpiece, saying, "Betty, unlock the door, please." A slight electronic sound signaled that the Cyborg had done this part of her job. Unnecessarily, Portia politely whispered, "Thank you."

Unlike most berthing compartment doors, the Admiral's door was a pressure-bearing hatch. Portia guessed that if the ship ever suffered a serious depressurization, the designers and/or owners of the ship cared more about the health and life of the man at the top than they did the health and life of those beneath him.

She jerked back the handle disengaging the clasp, then slid the door aside and surged inside. She didn't see anyone immediately; Betty had told her moments earlier that Caldwell and Carla were in the suite's bedroom. Scanning her surroundings for anything unexpected and finding nothing, she headed quietly for opened bedroom door. The closer she got, the more obvious the sounds of sex beyond it.

Pausing, Portia leaned forward and peeked between the door and the frame, smiling at what she saw: The Admiral's wife was naked with the exception of a pair of thigh-high stockings and the shackles securing her hands high upon the massive bed's headboard. On her knees, she was being pummeled with great force, speed, and depth by the Lieutenant; Caldwell was greatly out of uniform, wearing of all things his lover's garter belt, second pair of now ripped and tattered stockings, and high heels.

Portia nearly burst out laughing, covering her mouth just in case. She continued watching and listening; the officer was grunting out loudly with each fierce thrust, while Carla was crying out loudly and demanding in between screams, "Harder! Harder! Harder, you bastard!"

Caldwell suddenly threw his head back, grasped the woman's hips even tighter in his powerful hands, and rammed hard and deep inside her, remaining there as his balls unloaded their seed into her. As he maintained that position, Carla -- releasing what had happened -- began chastising him for cumming first with all the appropriate foul words. Caldwell ignored her, relishing in the euphoria erupting through him before falling backwards to rest his haunches upon his calves and heeled feet.

Portia had seen enough. She came around the door, leveled her Pulse Pistol at the officer, and pulled the trigger. A ball of energy was emitted by the weapons at such speed that it wasn't visible to the naked eye, striking him with over 50,000 volts. Caldwell had already been trembling from orgasm, but now he began twitching wildly, falling farther back onto the bed before rolling off to the floor. As the bolt of electricity dissipated, he finally went silent and still.

By now, Carla was screaming in fear, pulling herself up close to the headboard in an attempt to hide her nudity. "What the fuck...? What ... the ... fuck ... Portia!"

(Part 2 coming).

 

[Alice2015]

(Part 2)

The soon-to-be-Captain of the Venture circled around the bed, flipped the Lieutenant onto his front side, and secured his hands behind him. Looking to the still screaming woman, Portia laughed as she looked her over; Carla pushed up against the headboard to hide her frontside, but her beautiful, perfect, tight ass was still on full display.

At a relatively quieter moment, she asked, "Caldwell ... really?" She looked to the man and his current wardrobe, asking, "And like this?"

"Fuck you, Portia!" Carla hollered. "You don't know what my life is like."

Portia laughed. "I guess not."

As Portia raised the Pulse Pistol toward her, Carla cried out, "No! Wait! Wait!" When Portia paused, lowering the weapon a bit, Carla frantically asked, "What's going on? Why are you doing this? What's happening. Fuck, Portia! Why are you doing this?"

"I'm stealing the Venture, Carla," she said bluntly. She raised the weapon again.

"Take me!" Carla blurted out in desperation. When Portia again lowered the weapon a bit, Carla continued, "Take me ... as a hostage! I won't be trouble for you. Just don't kill me, please!"

"Oh, I'm not going to kill you, Carla," Portia informed the Admiral's wife. "I'm just going to throw you and Caldwell into an Emergency Escape Pod like you're dressed now ... with the other Crew ... and let your husband figure out what pisses him off more: losing his ship or having his third-in-command sticking his cock inside his wife while wearing nylons and heels."

Portia laughed with joy as she raised the weapon again and pulled the trigger. Carla jerked wildly against the headboard for a moment before the trembling subsided; her face and breasts pressed hard into the padded headboard, and with her torso still supported by her knees, her back arched forward, forcing her ass outward toward the end of the bed.

Portia took a moment to admire that wondrous piece of female art, remembering the one and only time that she herself had partaken of it. Neither of the women had ever considered themselves lesbian, bisexual, or even bi-curious. But that one time together had been spectacularly hot and satisfying, and neither of them had ever expressed regret in allowing it to happen. Still, they'd never repeated the encounter.

Tapping her earpiece, Portia asked, "Betty, are you available to assist me?"

"May I have a few minutes to continue assisting the men, Captain?" the Cyborg asked.

"No hurry, Betty," Portia told her. "When you can, make your way here." She paused, then said, "Betty, don't let Marcus or Vincent know I'm telling you this, but ... I only want you to come here. Understand?"

"I understand, Captain," Betty replied.

Portia turned her attention back to the naked woman dangling from the shackles. What are you thinking, you idiot? she asked herself as her mind was racing with possibilities. She and the boys had a plan, a good one that didn't need deviation. And yet, she just couldn't help herself. Searching until she found the keys to the cuffs, she removed them from Carla, laid her on her back, and shackled her once again in a far more comfortable position.

At Caldwell, Portia removed a small injector pen from the Pulse Pistol's holster belt, flicked the cap off with her thumb, and jabbed it into the Lieutenant's thigh. She found Carla's shed pair of panties and lifted the man's head upwards by a handful of hair; his mouth opened wide as such a positioning of his head would cause, letting her stuff the panties into his mouth. Peeling one of the Admiral's wife's stockings down her leg, she wrapped it around Caldwell's head, containing the panties.

Just about then, the Lieutenant returned to consciousness. He kicked and struggled, to which Portia punched him in the temple and ordered, "Knock it off ... you pervert!" She laughed as she snatched up his own discarded underwear, pulling the boxers down over the top of his head to prevent him from being able to see what was happening. She growled, "Lay there silent and still, and I won't cut your cock off with my knife."

Pulling the switchblade from her boot and clicking the blade out, Portia pressed it against Caldwell's bared thigh, close to his taint. He whimpered something incoherent, to which Portia repeated her order and threat. She turned her attention back to Carla again, covering her with a blanket. Then, she waited, spending the time walking around the Admiral's quarters to see what kind of interesting stuff she could find.

<<<<<<< >>>>>>>
​

It was a very long ten or fifteen minutes before Betty's voice came across the Comms saying, "I'm at the door of Berthing Compartment 4-26, Captain. May I enter?"

"Come in, Betty," Portia said. "We're in the bedroom again."

The Cyborg entered cautiously, presuming that Portia had taken care of things but also not assuming anything that might get her in trouble. She noted that there was a pile of various things in the middle of the dining table; she didn't know the Admiral and his wife -- other than what was in the Computer System's memory -- or their housekeeping habits, but something told Betty that that pile of things was Portia's doing.

"What can I do for you, Captain," the Cyborg asked after she'd entered the bedroom and assessed the situation. "Shall I remove the Lieutenant and the Admiral's wife to the Emergency Escape Pod?"

"How we doing with the others?" Portia asked.

Without audibly speaking the words, the Cyborg caused Vincent and Marcus to hear her voice saying, "The Captain would like an update, please." A moment later, she looked to Portia, saying, "All four are on their way to the Pod, Captain." She again looked between Carla and Caldwell, asking, "Shall I take them there as well."

"Just him," Portia said, nodding her head toward the man whimpering on the floor. Then, elevating an extended finger to her lips, she said, "Unfortunately, Carla is dead."

The Cyborg looked to the woman, saw that she was clearly breathing and that -- by the movement in her throat's many vessels and arteries -- still had a beating heart. Looking back to Portia and her shushing gesture, Betty asked, "Do I need to know what happened, Captain?"

"The Pulse Pistol ... they aren't supposed to be lethal," Portia said with feigned dismay. "But this time..." She paused, then heading for the bedroom's exit, said, "Come with me a moment ... before you take the Lieutenant to the Pod."

Out in the living area, Portia told Betty in a whisper, "Until I tell you differently, Vincent and Marcus are not to know that Carla is alive. If they ask -- which they will -- you tell them what I told you: the Pulse Pistol affected her heart and stopped it. It wouldn't be the first time this happened, so ... they'll buy it. Anyway ... for now ... take the Lieutenant to the Pod."

"Would you like me to dress him first, Captain?" Betty asked.

Portia looked back into the bedroom; from where she stood, the could see Caldwell's lower half, including his stocking-covered hairy legs and his cock, no longer stiff but still hanging out in view. She told the Cyborg, "No, Betty. Take him just like that. Leave the hood and gag on him for now." She smiled, adding, "Heels, too."

She returned to the table full of items as the Cyborg retrieved Caldwell. As the two came out, Portia handed out a tablet, saying, "Give this to one of the men. Gorly maybe. He'll know what to do with it."

"Do I need to know what it is, Captain?" Betty asked.

"Evidence that the Admiral and our friend the Lieutenant here have been siphoning profits for their own benefit," Portia said. Caldwell struggled unsuccessfully against the Cyborg's grip, trying to speak. Portia clicked the knife's blade out again, returning the man to calm again. To Betty, Portia said, "Let me know when we're ready to eject the Pod."

 

[HumanBean]

"Wait, what? Lieutenant Caldwell is where?" Portia reacted to hearing that Lieutenant Caldwell was currently in the bedroom Admiral Korlitz shared with his wife, Carla ... and others.

Honestly, the news didn't surprise Vincent at all. He'd been invited there once while the Admiral was planetside as well. Carla had been a wonderful, exciting, and satisfying fuck. But she'd had some kinky requests that hadn't been in Vincent's wheelhouse. They hadn't fucked a second time.

Portia spoke of her surprise but then moved on. She said she would deal with Caldwell and Carla herself. "You three can you handle the others?"

"Easy," Marcus said without hesitation. He looked to the cyborg, saying, "As long as Blondie there can do what she's said she can do."

"Already doing it," Betty said. She'd already gotten into the Venture's systems and was both taking actions and collecting intel. She told the guys, "It appears that I am all yours."

Vincent, Marcus, and Betty headed aft. They didn't have to go far, finding one of the crew doing electrical maintenance just a dozen yards aft and one deck above them. They did exactly as Vincent and Betty had planned. The latter turned off the lighting in the compartment. The goggles were designed to work both in lighted and unlighted compartments. They allowed the men to see clearly both before and after the cyborg dropped the lights.

Marcus hurried forward to fire a Level 2 ball of plasma at the man. They wanted to disable him for an easy takedown. They didn't want him unconscious, though. That meant carrying him to the pod.

They bound, gagged, and hooded the man. They shackled him to a piece of equipment before moving on to the next target.

This went on easy enough for the next target. But then the fourth crewman was suddenly on the move. Betty listened in on the Comms. She told Vincent and Marcus, "He's reporting to Crewman Abaturov that he's going to aid the others in a repair."

Betty analyzed the situation and advised that they wait to go after the next target. The man's place was not ideal.

As they waited, Betty indicated that Portia was asking for her assistance. Vincent and Marcus couldn't hear Portia on the Comms. They could only hear Betty's response. Vincent found that curious, maybe even suspicious.

The trio moved ahead to get their second target. It went as easily as the first had. Betty told the pair of men, "I should assist the Captain."

"Yeah, go help Portia, Betty," Vincent said. "We'll take these two to the shuttle."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
​

Vincent and Marcus were waiting outside the emergency escape pod. The first 2 of 6 crew were trussed up there: shackled hands and feet, gagged mouths, and hooded heads. Betty filled their ears with, "The Captain would like an update, please."

"We're good," Vincent responded, "but we need to take care of these last two. Every minute that passes by is one minute closer to that other shuttle getting close enough to make this moot."

(OOC: Little change from what you posted, Alice. Only 2 are in the pod, with 2 to go.)

The men heard Betty in their Comms saying, "Two are secured in the Pod, Captain. The other two are in Engineering."

There was a pause with no dialogue in Vincent or Marcus's ears. The two looked at each other questioningly. They didn't know that Betty and Portia were arranging for the cyborg to take Caldwell to the pod or that the Admiral's wife wasn't coming.

Finally, Betty's voice returned: "I am on my way to the pod. Please standby there."

"Copy," Vincent said. He shrugged to Marcus. "I guess we standby."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx​

A couple of minutes passed. Suddenly, Marcus laughed loudly, then pointed. Vincent followed the man's gestured. His eyes widened, his mouth fell open, and he murmured, "Oh my fucking God, what the fuck."

The cyborg was manhandling Lieutenant Caldwell down the passageway. The man was naked except for a hood over his head, torn women's stockings now gathered around his calves and ankles, and high heel shoes, one of which had lost a heel.

The two men laughed hysterically as Betty and the officer arrived. Vincent exclaimed, "What the fuck happened here?"

"No time to explain," Betty responded, maneuvering the man through the pod's hatch. "Later."

Caldwell stumbled, but the cyborg's strength kept him on his feet. She lowered him to the deck, then looked around. She found the man who her Venture-provided data told her was Crew member Gorly. She moved to the man and stuffed the memory disc into his pocket. She told Gorly in whisper, "Captain Portia wishes you to have this information. I would advise that you tell no one from the Venture about this."

As the cyborg exited the and closed the pod's hatch, Vincent asked, "Where's the Admiral's wife?"

"Unfortunately, Carla Korlitz was killed by a Pulse Rifle blast," Betty said with a calm matter-of-fact tone. "The Captain ordered her body left aboard for proper disposal or return to the Admiral as a later date."

Vincent was stunned. He had fond memories of Carla. They weren't just related to their one night of passionate sex. But that experience fed his state of confusion.

(Continued in next post. I guess you aren't the only one who likes to write long posts. )

 

[HumanBean]

(Continued from above.)

The three of them headed for the last two crewmen. Betty told them, "Crewman Torrance is joining Crewman Abaturov in Engineering Compartment 4-38a. They are in the vicinity of the #4 secondary engine's power stabilizing unit.

When they were close, Vincent whispered to Betty, "Where are they?"

She told them distance and direction. Vincent gestured Marcus around to the left, telling him to walk silently. There was virtually no activity on the Venture while the majority of the crew was planetside. That meant little noise other than ventilation, a variety of life support units, and a few automated robotic units doing mostly cleanup.

Vincent whispered to Betty, "Countdown 10. Then lights out."

He pulled his goggles back down into place. They were a good quality, modern set that worked in both a lit and unlit room without subjecting the user to blinding when lights turned back on or an acclimation period after the lights turned off. He unslung his rifle and headed off to the right, counting. Right on schedule, the lights went off. His goggles automatically switched to darkness mode. Vincent could see just as good as he had seconds earlier.

He hurried forward, turned a corner, and found the two men. He raised the rifle ... and froze. The man he could clearly see was Abaturov was sitting in a chair, his hands out to his sides grasping a handrail protecting the equipment behind him. The other man, Torrance, was on his knees, his head bobbing in the first's lap.

Vincent was shocked. Not because he'd never seen one man sucking another's cock. Hell, he'd filled another man's mouth with his jizz on occasion when no female or sex cyborg option was available. He'd simply never imagined Abaturov enjoying such a thing, let alone Torrance providing it.

Vincent was about to pull the trigger. But he paused. Let them finish, he thought to himself. I mean, c'mon, what'll it hurt to--

That was all the farther his thought got, though, as he heard the loud blast of of Marcus's pulse rifle. A fraction of a second later, Abaturov screamed out in great agony. He dropped his hands to the other man's head, trying to pull it out of his groin.

Vincent understood exactly what was happening. He himself had been shot by a pulse rifle once when police broke up a bar fight with pulse rifles. He knew that, like touching a high voltage wire, every muscle in your body tensed violently when hit with a pulse weapon's bolt of energy.

The lights came back on, followed by Marcus's cry of "Fucking fuck fuck! What the fuck!"

Vincent pulled the goggles up as if he might see something other than what he'd known had happened. But it didn't get better. Torrance fell away to the floor, still twitching and trembling from the pulse. And Abaturov grasped at his groin, trying to stem the pain and blood that was filling his hands and flooding down his thighs to the deck.

Vincent rushed forward to help, unsure of what he was supposed to do. He told Marcus, "Find a first aid kit! Now!"

Marcus rushed off, mostly because he couldn't see this anymore. It was ghastly, a word he'd only associate to it later. Vincent shed his pack and coat. He pressed the latter into the still screaming man's crotch. He thought it might slow the blood loss.

"That will not save his life," Betty said as she arrived. She pushed Vincent aside, reached the fingers of both hands into the opening of the man's unzipped coveralls, and jerked outwards. The front of the man's clothes opened wide, exposing his injury. Betty grasped Abaturov's cock at its base, squeezing. The blood spitting forth with the beating of his heart slowed.

Vincent hollered, "Marcus! Where the fuck are you?"

Betty took Abaturov's chin in her hand and trained his eyes on her own. She told him in a calm voice, "I can save your life. But your penis will never work as you wish it to."

"My penis? What? What're you? What happened?" he cried out in panic. He came to realize just what had happened and wha the blonde holding his cock was saying. "Did that fucker bite my cock off? Is that what happened. Is my cock gone. Fuck! For fuck's sake."

"I am sorry, Crewman Abaturov," Betty told him, still calm. "I can stop the blood loss. And I can perform surgery to close off the point of damage--"

"Can't you reattach it?" the man asked desperately. "Can't you sew it back on? They do that, don't they?"

"They can," Betty said, clarifying, "A proper surgeon with the time and skills and a severed penis that is not overly damaged."

"What the fuck does that mean?" Abaturov asked. "What does that mean?"

"What does that mean?" Victor asked.

Betty pointed toward the downed Torrance. Lying on the floor near his face were the remains of Abaturov's cock. It hadn't simply been bit off cleanly by the other man's sharp front teeth. The fluctuating movement of his jaw under the pulse of the weapon had caused the chunk to be ... gnawed upon.

Abaturov was crying by now. He asked Betty, "What can you do? What can you do to save me?"

"I can save your life," she repeated. "But your penis is gone, Crewman. I am sorry."

Vincent turned at the sound of Marcus hurrying back up. He stopped the man, holding him back until a resolution was reached.

"Shouldn't we do something?" Marcus asked. "What should we do?"

"Nothing," Vincent said.

They watched Betty lean in close to hear what Abaturov was trying to say to her. The two spoke together in whispers for a minute or so. Then, surprising Vincent and Marcus both, the cyborg pressed her mouth to the dying man's mouth in a long, soft, erotic kiss.

"Thank you," Abaturov managed when their mouths separated again. Then, barely audible, he said with a permissive tone, "Okay. It's okay. Please."

Suddenly, Betty pulled the weapon on her side, quickly adjusted it to Level 5, pressed it to Abaturov's temple, and pulled the trigger. His head flopped away from the gun, bounced back a bit, then lay to the side again. Betty holstered the weapon, took Abaturov's face in her bloody hands, and kissed him soft and long again.

Then, she simply stood and said, "Let us deliver Crewman Torrance to the emergency escape pod." She paused, then said, "It is not my decision to make, of course, but I do not think that it is necessary or helpful to tell Crewman Torrance how his friend died. Do you?"

The men looked at each other. Their faces were filled with shock. When they looked back, they almost simultaneously said, "No, it's not."

A couple of minutes later, they had Torrance in the pod. Betty alerted Portia to the accidental death of Abaturov.

 

[Alice2015]

"Captain, we are ready for deployment of the Emergency Escape Pod," Betty mind sent through the Venture's Comms to Portia without her mouth having to actually speak the words. To Vincent and Marcus, she said out loud, "Lock it up. I have updated the Captain."

They secured the hatch as Portia ordered, "Vincent, Marcus, I need you to verify that every system these six were..." She paused, remembering that two of the six onboard hadn't been working. She went on, "Verify that anything they were working on is closed up and functioning. Coordinate with Betty on this. Betty, delve into the Command and Control to see what you can tell them ... and tell me, of course."

Betty immediately listed nine systems that needed to be checked, clarifying, "Only the first four checks are required before we go to power, but the fifth and sixth should be completed before we enter FTLS."

"Get on it, you three," Portia ordered. I'll be on the Bridge laying out the specifics of our course."

Betty began, "The course I designated earlier on Shuttle 5--"

"Is preliminary," Portia answered. "Listen, I know that you know everything there is regarding getting from Point A to Point Z ... but there are other concerns that you may not have considered. Human things."

Despite her programming and extensive information on hand, Betty responded with, "I understand, Captain."

<<<<<<< >>>>>>>​

Twenty minutes, the four have to do's were done, and -- with Marcus at the Nav on the Bridge and Vincent in the Engine Room monitoring things there -- Portia began powering up propulsion. She looked to Betty, asking, "You're sure no one is going to detect our unscheduled departure?"

"I submitted new orders to Phannus 3's Flight Control," the Cyborg answered, "They believe that all of our Shuttles have returned, and that we are leaving as scheduled."

"And what about those Shuttles still on the surface?" Portia pressed. She felt a slight tremor through the Command Seat as the engines heated up. She asked Marcus, "Everything good?"

He answered, then returned to his operation of the engines.

"I used the Venture's Command and Control Systems to send maintenance shutdowns to them," Betty repeated in more detail than the first time the Captain had pushed her on it. "The Shuttles will not power up until the Crew serving them go through the verification protocols. It will take a minimum or 30 hours."

"What about the Pod?" Portia asked with sincere concern. "I don't want those people--"

"I reprogrammed the Emergency Escape Pod's transponder ... as I told you once already, Captain," the Cyborg said. "It will turn back on in 10 hours. The Pod has enough power to sustain life support for 20 hours. Phannus 3 averages an arrival every six hours. As soon as the transponder--"

"They'll senod someone to save them," Portia cut in. There was another shaking as more engines came online. "Okay. Fine, I trust you."

"Thank you, Captain," Betty said. "I appreciate your trust. I trust you, too."

Portia looked to the Cyborg, studying her a long moment. She wondered whether this Betty was unique or whether all of the Betties were like this one. Most of the Cybernetic Organisms Portia had known had, in one way or another, been obviously artificial. They looked like robots, moved like robots, spoke like robots; one of the quickest ways to detect a Betty or any other similar model was to simply talk to it and look for the use or lack of contractions. They didn't use them unless their designers had specifically designed them to do so, and even then they sometimes reverted to their old program sometimes, giving themselves away.

She'd understood this Betty to not be a Human upon first seeing her on Phannus only because she'd seen another copy of this exact version once before. That one, which had gone by the name Venus, had been a sex servant in the Guest House on Thoringer Beta, a semi-Earth-like moon orbiting a gas giant in the Roust Region. That Betty had been able to do things to Portia's pussy with her tongue, lips, and fingers that no man or woman ever had before. If Portia had had the money for it, she would have purchased the Betty. Unfortunately, the credits she'd had available at the time had barely been enough for a second night with the Cyborg.

Marcus fired up the remaining engines and, for the first time, Portia felt the forward movement of the ship. She looked to monitor showing the view of the Pod outside the ship. It began getting noticeably smaller and would disappear entirely from view in a few minutes.

"How long until we can fire up the FTL engines, Marcus," Portia asked.

Before he could answer, though, Betty did, with, "Another 93 minutes Standard, Captain." Then, seeing the reaction from the man at the Nav Station, said, "Forgive me, Crewman Marcus." She looked to Portia, asking, "Should I refer to Marcus and Vincent by their surnames, Captain? And by ranks?"

"Given names are fine, Betty," Portia answered, again before Marcus could speak. "I'm not concerned about familiarity between the four of us, Betty."

"Five of us," a female voice corrected from behind them. Portia turned to see Rachel entering the Bridge.

Betty had already known that her Charge was coming and didn't show surprise but did smile and ask, "How did you sleep, Miss Rachel?"

"Rachel," the girl corrected. "I heard what you were saying about familiarity. You should call me Rachel. All of you should."

As she'd been talking, Rachel had been nearing Marcus at the Navigation Station. She dropped into the chair of the nearest station, leaning back into it and lifting her feet to rest them on the panel's edge. Rachel had donned the clothes she'd worn coming aboard Shuttle 5 originally, a tight-fitting, cropped, spaghetti-strap blouse and a pair of cutoff denim shorts; they were a throwback that had made a comeback a hundred years ago during a rebirth of interest Ancient Earth history.

She liked dressing this way because it drew attention to her figure, described at various times as delicious, yummy, and doable, which she'd been told meant that men would most definitely put their cock inside her if given the chance. Looking at Marcus's reaction to her return told Rachel that he most definitely found her doable. She smiled at him; she liked having him yearn for her.

"So, what's with the woman you're holding in the Admiral's quarters?" Rachel asked, looking Portia's direction. She saw the reaction in the woman's face and asked, "Oh, sorry. Was I not supposed to mention her?"

 

[HumanBean]

Over the Comms, Vincent heard Portia tell Betty, "I know that you know everything there is regarding getting from Point A to Point Z ... but there are other concerns that you may not have considered. Human things."

The Boss was absolutely correct about that. The Venture wasn't Vincent's first ship but was his 3rd. And each of the previous 2 had had issues with the Artificial Intelligence that had been a part of space travel now for thousands of years. One of those issue had left his shift twirling through space for 20 days before the Human survivors (barely 10% of the original crew) had been able to reestablish control. It wasn't something Vincent ever wanted to experience again.

"I'll help with that when I get to the bridge, boss," Marcus told Portia. He had a knack for navigation that they didn't teach in any of the space flight programs. And he'd learned it all from his father, who'd been a deep space transport navigator.

Betty either knew not to fight with Portia over it or respected her Human intuition. She responded simply with, "I understand, Captain."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx​

Marcus headed for the bridge and the Navigation Console. Vincent stayed back in Engineering. His job was to keep an eye on the systems there. But he also spent time tending to Abaturov's body and the mess left behind. It wasn't the most enjoyable thing to do, obviously.

Ironically, it wasn't worst situation Vincent had ever dealt with. That had to be the guy who'd practically exploded when the compartment he was in suddenly decompressed. He'd always thought those stories about Humans exploding all over the walls had been tall tales until that day. He'd very much been low man on the totem pole, so he'd been tasked with scooping the man's parts up.

By the time he'd finished, the Venture cruising along at 50% power. With the engine room purring, he headed up to the bridge. He walked inside just in time to hear Rachel ask, "So, what's with the woman you're holding in the Admiral's quarters?"

Marcus spun in his chair at Nav to look at the girl. But it was Vincent who was first to ask, "What the fuck?"

He saw the reaction from Portia and asked, "Carla Korlitz is alive?"

"Oh, sorry," Rachel asked. "Was I not supposed to mention her?"

Vincent came around for a better look into Portia's face, challenging, "You said we weren't going to keep anyone else aboard. You said we were keeping this small. Said we were going to keep this as simple as we could. Keeping the Admiral's wife aboard as we steal his ship is neither keeping this small or simple. He might have written the ship off as a loss and gone for the insurance money. But he ain't gonna let you keep his wife."

"She was in bed with Caldwell," Marcus reminded the other man.

"Have you seen that woman's body?" Vincent asked. "The Admiral will chase us to Earth and back to get that back in his bed, even if she's sharing it with ever guy onboard!"

Marcus turned away from the other man, mumbling, "She probably has."

Vincent had already dismissed the other man and was addressing Portia again: "Have you got a plan for keeping out exhaust free of whatever missiles or laser shots he's gonna put up our ass when he gets Corporate to send a warship after us?"

 

[Alice2015]

"What the fuck?" Vincent challenged Portia. "Carla Korlitz is alive?"

He questioned her about her previous instructions that no one else was going to be brought in on their little act of piracy. About the Admiral, Vincent said, "...he ain't gonna let you keep his wife."

"We made it appear as though she'd been killed," Portia told the two men. She glared at Rachel for fucking her little deception up so early, asking, "How the fuck did you find out about it?"

"I asked Betty if anything had happened that we weren't expecting," Rachel explained. "She said one guy got his cock bit off ... and the Admiral's wife was tied up in her bed."

Now glaring at the Cyborg, Portia said, "I thought I told you we weren't going to tell anyone about this yet."

Rachel cut in, saying, "Sorry, I probably should have told you this. Betty can't not tell me things when I ask them. She is totally dedicated to me ... by her programming." Giving Portia a moment to consider that, she innocently asked, "Is that gonna be a problem ... Captain?"

Portia was pissed, but she also didn't know what to do about it. What was she supposed to do? Order the Cyborg to go against the same programming that had led them all to this little adventure of theirs that -- if successful -- was going to make Portia, Vincent, and Marcus very wealthy people?

She looked to Vincent again and explained, "Carla begged me to kidnap her. She didn't want to stay behind with her husband. She'd rather be out here as a hostage with pirates facing God knows what ahead of them ... then to be with her husband as she had been. I ... I couldn't help myself."

A tone on the Nav console got their attention: they were ready to spool up the FTL engines. "Let's get the fuck out of Phannus first. Then, we'll deal with the Carla Kornitz situation." To Marcus, Portia said, "Get it done. Get us out of here."

The man worked his magic, and the speed of the Venture increased exponentially until they broke into faster-than-light speed and then continued to accelerate into the many multiples of FTL speed.

 

[HumanBean]

Vincent was conflicted about what he was hearing between the three women. He was relieved to hear Rachel so readily explaining her control over the cyborg. It showed a level of trust between the girl and the Venture's crew. The actual crew, of just 3.

At the same time, Portia had been keeping secrets from the crew. From the 2 men. Her actual crew. Vincent didn't like that at all.

Rachel asked, "Is that gonna be a problem ... Captain?"

Yet again, Vincent found himself conflicted. The girl's words seemed to show her concern for Portia's feelings on the matter. But her tone had reminded Vincent of someone. Of many someones. The owners of ships he'd worked on. The important passengers. The people who themselves had not been part of the crew but thought they had a place above them. A position of authority, privilege, or both.

Vincent had never liked those kinds of people. He'd always preferred that they were locked away in their big, lavish staterooms. Leave them contained but happy. Out of the way of those getting them from point A to point B.

He'd begun feeling that way about the Admiral as his time aboard the Venture had passed. The man was a career Corporation Officer. That was true. Not merchant. Not military. Something in between, as was Vincent, Marcus, Portia, and nearly everyone he knew. He had earned his position of power aboard the transport.

But over time, he'd been becoming one of those someones. Vincent had been losing his originally high level of respect for the man. It was the reason Vincent hadn't hesitated to fuck the man's wife when he was offered the opportunity. Thinking of Carla now made Vincent's cock tingle and come alive. If only she hadn't demanded the butt plug and cock ring, he thought to himself.

Vincent chastised Portia about Carla still being onboard. The Captain's response was, "Carla begged me to kidnap her. She didn't want to stay behind with her husband. She'd rather be out here as a hostage with pirates facing God knows what ahead of them ... then to be with her husband as she had been. I ... I couldn't help myself."

And yet again, Vincent found himself conflicted. He hated the idea that they now had the Admiral's wife to deal with. He didn't for a minute think they were going to get away with the she's dead bit. That meant they weren't just dealing with the Admiral's wife but with the Admiral, too. And that meant an extra level of judicial revenge from the Corporation.

And yet.

Carla Korlitz was still onboard. By choice! One of the sexiest women he'd ever seen naked before was right here on the Venture with only 2 men to satisfy her desires. That didn't sound so bad to Vincent. He grimaced again at the memory of the plug and ring. But still, Carla Korlitz.

A tone on the Nav console told them it was time to fire up the FTL engines. Portia said, "Let's get the fuck out of Phannus first. Then, we'll deal with the Carla Kornitz situation."

Marcus dropped into the seat at Navigation. Vincent turned to depart the bridge for the engine room. He knew where Portia would want him. He donned the Communications ear bud again and called for Betty's attention. As he tapped his ear, he said, "I'm going to need you to keep me aware of shit. This vessel wasn't designed to be operated by 4 people, even if one of them is a walking, talking computer."

"With marvelous tits!" Marcus called from Nav. All eyes turned his way. A moment later, he turned toward them. He had an expression of horror on his face as he asked, "Did I say that out loud?"

Marcus turned back to his work. Vincent shrugged to Portia, saying, "Hey, you invited him into this. You deal with him."

He looked to Betty, tapped his ear again, turned, and departed.

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​

It took almost an hour for the Venture to get fully up to the FTL speed they would travel at for the first leg of their piratical adventure. Vincent was kept busy. He was doing the job of 6 men. It would have been easier if he'd been able to do it from one compartment. Alas, he'd been all over engineering over that time.

By the time the ship was at speed, Vincent was covered in sweat and grime. The first had simply been the result of all the hard work. The latter had been because he'd had to crawl under a piece of equipment to tighten some fittings, let the piece of equipment shake itself to more pieces.

He'd gotten Betty's help for that thankfully. She'd come back at his request to both monitor the work's result and adjust settings as the work proceeded. Vincent emerged from the tight space and shed his shirt, wiping away the sweat. He thought he saw something in the cyborg's reaction as she looked at him. He took a few more seconds of wiping the cloth over him while looking her over.

"Gimme an update, Betty," Vincent asked. "Speed, efficiency, so on."

The cyborg did that think she did with what amounted to a brain and told Vincent what he wanted to know. A lull occurred in the conversation. Vincent thought, what the heck, ask.

"Are all of the Betties programmed for sexual service?" he asked bluntly. He gave her a whoa, surrender gesture before she could even respond, clarifying, "I'm not asking you for sex. I'm just curious. I mean, I've seen cyborg sex workers. Hell, I've been with them. But they were never like you. I've never seen a cyborg as Human-like as you. If Portia hadn't recognized you as one, I might not have at all."

As he waited to see if Betty would respond, Vincent opened a locker, then another, then a third until he found one with a shirt large enough to fit him.

 

[Alice2015]

Engine Room:

"Are all of the Betties programmed for sexual service?" Vincent asked Betty. She was about to respond, but he made a gesture interrupting her and continued, "I'm not asking you for sex. I'm just curious."

"I understand," she responded. He wasn't the first person -- male or female -- to make inquiries about what more personal services she might be able and willing to provide them.

"I mean, I've seen cyborg sex workers," Vincent continued. He talked about having partaken of the sexual services of Cyborgs that were less Human-like than herself, then about how he might not have realized that Betty herself was a Betty if Portia hadn't recognized her unit.

"Providing sexual pleasure and satisfaction are elements of my programming, yes, Crewman Vincent," Betty told him in a casual tone; she was simply stating the facts. "But they are not the specific reason for my physical appearance, if that was your question." She paused a moment, then added, "I wasn't given what your Crewmate called marvelous tits because my creator wanted me to be a sex servant."

She watched as Vincent searched for and finally donned a fresh shirt from a random locker. Betty continued, "If you are asking me whether or not I am available for sexual activity, the answer to that question is not for me to answer."

Victor opened his mouth to speak but paused as Betty raised an extended finger; she was getting a direct communication from Portia. When the Human female was don, the Cyborg told Vincent, "The Captain had requested my presence on the Bridge. She would also like you to conclude your work ensuring that we are prepared for extended FTLS travel, then join her on the Bridge."

She turned to leave but paused at the compartment's pressure door to look back. "In case you were interested in who is able to answer the question of whether or not I am available for sexual interactions, that would be Miss Rachel." She used the Miss title despite the girl having told the others that they didn't need to use it. She smiled a bit as she looked Vincent up and down -- it wasn't that she was actually ogling him but that she had been programmed for this behavior -- and finished, "If Miss Rachel wished for me to have sex with you, Crewman ... I would be happy to accede to her request."

She turned and departed, returning to the Bridge. There, Portia led her over to the smaller 3D display where they worked further on the planned course. Portia called Marcus over as well, and as he rose to join them, Portia told Betty, "I hope I didn't offend you earlier when I said that you being a Cyborg meant that you might not anticipate some of the dangers we have ahead of us. I am very aware of what you have to offer us, Betty."

The Cyborg responded in her typical calm, matter-of-fact tone, "I was not offended. I do understand your concerns and, honestly, I believe you are correct in questioning my lack of Humanness. On the other hand, I do not think you have any idea of what I have to offer. And, in this case, I hope that I am not offending you."

Portia studied the Cyborg a moment, then looked to Marcus. She chuckled, quipping, "The bitch knows how to tell you to go fuck yourself, doesn't she?" She looked to Betty, saying, "Joking."

Tapping an icon on the Control Panel, she brought up the earlier 3D image of the Venture's planned route. The three of them talked about the first leg, discovering that none of them had any concerns for this portion of the trek. Portia opined, "Because of the crap we put the Shuttle Crews through, trying to get their birds to power up, it's gonna be at least 10, maybe 12 hours before they realize that the Venture is not waiting for them in orbit. By then, we will have reached Point B."

She reached a hand into the 3D image, pointing at the dot that represented the end of their first leg, then to two others as she continued. "When we slow from our current speed to one low enough to change directions, we'll be exposed to the Transponder Check Points here ... and here. By the time we get here, we have to have the Venture's transponders disconnected. It would be better if we had new ones ... legit ones, Betty."

Portia was looking directly at the Cyborg as she said this with an expectant tone. Betty responded, "I can produce a transponder signal that will appear legitimate at the moment of broadcast to the TCPs, Captain. But when the information is forwarded to the Corporate Flight Management Database--"
"Yeah, I know," Portia cut in. "They'll see that it's been faked. But by that point, we'll be here," she said, pointing to Point C on their trek." She used her spreading hands to zoom in on the image and tapped on the control pad, bringing up a new flashing dot. "And that's where this comes into play."

Portia looked to Marcus, asking, "Recognize it?"

 

[HumanBean]

Engine Room:

Betty explained her sexual situation to Vincent. Then, heading for the exit under orders from Portia, she looked back.

"In case you were interested in who is able to answer the question of whether or not I am available for sexual interactions," she told him, "That would be Miss Rachel."

Vincent couldn't help but notice the way the cyborg looked him up and down. It confused him. She wasn't a human. She wasn't a sex worker. Not per se, anyway. She could be if she wanted to be, by her own explanation.

"If Miss Rachel wished for me to have sex with you, Crewman," she continued, "I would be happy to accede to her request."

And she was gone. Vincent simply stared at the open hatch a long moment. What the fuck? What the fuck was that? He wanted to believe that Betty had just offered her sexual services to him. But thinking more about her words, Vincent knew that she hadn't. Not exactly.

Betty had said that if Rachel okayed it, she'd do it. Accede to her request, had been the phrase. That didn't sound too willing to Vincent. He didn't want Betty to fuck him because she was told to. Well, no, he preferred that she didn't do per an order from the young woman. But, in all honesty, Vincent wouldn't turn the opportunity down. No man would.


Bridge:

Marcus stood to join Portia and the cyborg in the corner of the bridge. He heard his boss saying, "I hope I didn't offend you earlier when I said that you being a Cyborg meant that you might not anticipate some of the dangers we have ahead of us. I am very aware of what you have to offer us, Betty."

Marcus obviously hadn't heard the earlier conversation between Vincent and the cyborg about sex. Still, hearing Portia talking about what Betty had to offer caused his cock to harden just as his male crewmate's had.

This awkward result wasn't helped by the cyborg saying, "...I do not think you have any idea of what I have to offer."

With his eyes taking a walk all up and down Betty's perfect form, Marcus's mind was filling with his ideas of what she had to offer. He pulled his eyes from the cyborg when he found Portia saying to him, "The bitch knows how to tell you to go fuck yourself, doesn't she?"

Marcus could only chuckle and nod his head. Inconspicuously, he rearranged his erection for more comfort and less conspicuousness. He'd done so when neither Portia nor Betty were looking his way. Then, a thought hit Marcus. He looked behind him, finding Rachel looking directly at him. He looked away from her, thinking Fuck, fuck. You're a fucking fuck of a fuck.

He tried to forget his faux pas by delving into the course conversation Portia was leading. He gave his opinion and told them what he could and couldn't do.

Then Portia zoomed the image in and pointed to what she called Point C. She looked to Marcus, asking, "Recognize it?"

He didn't immediately. But Portia tapped at the control panel and zoomed in again. The former dot became a physical shape. Next to it, the name of the item at that location appeared.

"Oh, fuck," Marcus mumbled. He looked to Portia, asking, "Are you out of your fucking mind?"

But she was serious about the little plan circulating around inside her crafty little brain. Marcus laughed, turning and walking away. He spun back suddenly, anxiously repeating, "Are you out of your fucking mind?"

"That's what I said!" Marcus said. He literally pointed at Portia, laying blame.

Vincent moved closer to the women and the 3D display. He studied it a moment, then looked to Portia. With more calm, he asked, "What's your idea? Exactly! Precisely!" He paused a moment before adding, "Because if you're planning a raid on a Corporation space vessel graveyard, your plan needs to be exact and precise. Otherwise, we might as well just give ourselves up now. Or fly into a star. That might be less painful."

 

[Alice2015]

Bridge:

Rachel hopped up from the console chair in which she'd been sitting to join the others, asking as she pointed to the object in the middle of the 3D display, "What's that?"

"Well, like Vincent pointed out," Portia began with an inappropriate amount of joy in her voice, "This is a graveyard. More precisely, it is the Wrankle & Conrad Spacecraft Reclamation Depot. Basically, it's where the Corporation sends its old or damaged spacecraft for disassembly and recycling. It's where we're going to find a working, legitimate transponder ... maybe a few of them, just in case we need them in the future--"

As expected, an argument erupted about how crazy the plan was. Portia listened to all the others had to say and responded as she felt appropriate. Often her answers made sense and satisfied the men; sometimes they didn't; and still others they led to Portia saying something to the effect of we'll work that out on our way there.

"That isn't all we're going to get there, though," Portia said when the conversation lagged. She looked between Marcus and Vincent for signs that one or both of them understood where this was going. Smiling, she reminded them, "The military parks old warships in the boneyard, too."

She paused, watching their reactions. Laughing, she pointed out, "We're pirates!" Again, she hesitated. "We stole a ship. A big, frickin' slow ass cargo transport. Well, slow compared to the Pursuers that will be working for us, and slow compared to some of the ships that we might need to ... borrow some resources from in the future: food, water, fuel ... marketable valuables.

"The way I see it," Portia continued, "We have three choices...

"One, we give up this adventure right now. The odds are against us. I think we all know that. We could load up in a Shuttle as we cruised by one of the more remote, less Corporate-regulated systems, drop planetside, and let the Venture sail on into the System's Sun, never to be seen again. We can part out the Shuttle and use the credits we get for it and whatever cargo we had aboard to live on ... until we run out of money and realize that we passed up a great opportunity ... which brings me to..."

"Two, we continue onward as we are, get Rachel and Betty to their destination, get a stack of credits that will fill every square meter of a Shuttle, and ... fly off.

"Or three ... this is my favorite of the three, but you guys make up your own minds. We turn this fucker into the scariest damn warship outside of the Corporation. We arm the Venture defensively and the Shuttles offensively, to raid ships, space stations ... bases and settlements."

"You're gonna steal from people...?" Rachel asked with a concerned tone. "Innocent people ... just trying to do their jobs and raise their families ... their children?"

Portia thought the girl was about to burst into tears and quickly said, "No, no! Not like that. I mean..." She suddenly realized that she'd given them all the wrong impression. "No, I mean Corporation targets." She looked around to each of them as she spoke with a desperate tone, "Listen, we all know that the Corporation is sucking the life out of this Quadrant ... out of, like Rachel said, the innocent people just trying to take care of their families ... their children. We can do something about that!"

She tapped at the Console, causing the boneyard to be illustrated with more details. She quickly pointed out the known defenses, as well as the likely ones that they wouldn't be able to detect until they were closer, if at all. "Once we have what we need ... guns, missile launchers, long range scanning equipment ... ammunition and more.

"Once we have that, we become a force to be reckoned with. And once that happens, we can start raiding Corporation targets. Take what's of value ... sell it, trade it, use it. And we share it. You all know the legend of Robin Hood, yes?" She looked around and got affirmative nods or words from all. "We take from the rich and give to the poor ... from the Corporation and to the people of the Quadrant.

"In the meantime, we'll probably gain a little wealth for ourselves," Portia admitted. "Gain a little comfort ... have a little fun ... see some nice places. That's okay, though. We'll be working hard ... we'll be risking out lives. We deserve this. I'm almost 35 Standard, and all I've ever done was work hard for others. I've never seen anything -- at least not the things seen by the rich bastards we work for and risk our lives for. We get paid for a job, go out on the town for a night of fun, and boom, the credits are gone. What kind of a life is that? Working hard day after day, risking our lives days after day, just to have one night of drinking, sex, and fun ... and then having nothing to our names...?"

 

[HumanBean]

Bridge:

Portia told them bluntly and, Vincent, thought with some excitement, "We're pirates!"

It was quite a declarative statement. They'd stolen a ship. Did that make them pirates? If they turned it over or got caught before they did any more illegal acts, did they remain pirates? Vincent didn't know. He also didn't know whether or not it mattered.

Portia explained their options, as she saw them: give up, continue with the current mission and retire, or literally become pirates.

Rachel feared that Portia planned on stealing from what she called innocent people just trying to do their jobs and raise their children. Portia reassured the girl that their thefts would only be against the Corporation. She mentioned the Ancient Earth legend of Robin Hood, saying, "We take from the rich and give to the poor ... from the Corporation and to the people of the Quadrant.

This was perfectly acceptable to both Marcus and Vincent. They, like, Portia, had worked hard all their lives and had nothing to show for it.

"I'm almost 35 Standard," Portia continued.

His boss's age had never occurred to Vincent. Oh, he knew it approximately. But he'd never been concerned with her years. She was beautiful. She was sexy. She was a great fuck. Why did he care whether she was 25, 35, or 85?

"What kind of a life is that?" Portia asked.

"I'm in," Marcus said. He found all the eyes turning his way. He shrugged. "I agree with the boss." He recalled the way the cyborg had been addressing Portia and corrected, "The Captain. I agree with the Captain. I'm sick of this shit. Day after day of sweating my ass off for just enough credits to get drunk and blown."

He cringed, looking between Betty and Rachel to say, "Sorry. Didn't mean that.

Vincent asked Marcus, "You understand what this means, right? What you're getting yourself into?"

"What, are you saying that you're not interested in this?" Marcus challenged.

"No, no," Vincent countered. "I'm in, too. I just want to make sure that--"

"I'm sure," Marcus cut his partner off. He looked to Portia, repeating, "I'm in. Just tell me what I need to do. I'm in."

 

[Alice2015]

Bridge:

"I'm in," Marcus said bluntly. As everyone looked his way, he added, "I agree with the boss ... the Captain."

Portia smiled at the man's use of the title. Those Crew in command of the Shuttles had always been in this gray area of whether or not they were to be called Captain or Commanding Officer or simply their names. Different Crew had handled it different ways. Portia had always allowed Vincent, Marcus, and anyone else under her command call her Boss. It had been enough for her. But, was it now?

"I agree with the Captain," Marcus continued. "I'm sick of this shit. Day after day of sweating my ass off for just enough credits to get drunk and blown."

As Marcus cringed and apologize, Portia had to turn away as she laughed, not wanting to appear as though she approved of such behavior. The Crew members aboard the Venture could be rather crude, rude, and lewd at times, and that didn't just apply to the males; there were fewer than two handfuls of female amongst the 36 total crew of the transport, and to survive such a workplace, it was often necessary to be able to stand toe to toe with the males in most situations.

"You understand what this means, right?" Vincent asked Marcus. "What you're getting yourself into?"

For a moment, Portia got nervous; she'd been counting on Marcus being a staunch supporter of their piracy adventure. Was he backing out now, when she needed him the most?

When Marcus challenged him, though, Vincent was quick to say, "No, no, I'm in, too. I just want to make sure that--"

"I'm sure," Marcus said without doubt. He looked to Portia, repeating, "I'm in. Just tell me what I need to do. I'm in."

Portia pointed to the middle of the 3D display, saying, "Find me a way into that! We made a delivery there, once, remember?" He did, of course; it was why she'd earlier asked Marcus if he remembered the boneyard. "Shuttle 5 should have a second-by-second record of everything that happened, everything that was said, every security feature that we passed through. Dig into that with Betty. Find me a way in there!"

With Marcus assigned a job, Portia turned to Vincent. "You were once stationed aboard a Pursuer Class warship, right?" She didn't really need to wait for an answer; Vincent's former military service had been one of the reasons that the Admiral had hired him without even checking his references. Portia had always found it ironic that if the Admiral had checked those references, Vincent might never have joined Venture's Crew. If only the Admiral knew some of the shit you'd done.

"I need you to figure out ways to convert two or three or all of the Shuttles as far as that goes ... and the Venture itself into a battle-ready-warships," Portia said. "The Mothership needs to be able to protect itself from attack; the Shuttles need to attack back, as well as raid."

She saw Vincent's immediate reaction and knew what he was going to say. She gave him a two-handed wait gesture, then explained, "I know, I know: until we know exactly what's going to be available to us at the boneyard, we won't know what we're going to use. But ... Betty can search the records and find the names and classes of every warship the Corporation and Government have retired over the last twenty, fifty, hundred years. If we know what might be there, we just might be able to have a plan in place to start the refit on Day 1."

"What can I do?" a very excited Rachel piped in. She was trembling with excitement over what she was hearing and looked like she could explode any second. She grasped Portia's hand, begging, "Let me help."

"You want to help?" Portia asked, getting a rapidly head-nodding response from the girl. "Help Vincent. Betty says you're a sharp little thing ... that you have an eye for detail and read fast ... quickly ... whatever."

"Quickly," the girl said, smiling.

"Help Vincent go through the records," Portia ordered. "Find me some ships that are collecting dust in that boneyard."

"Do ships in space collect dust?" Rachel asked innocently. Then, seeing Portia's raised eyebrow, she giggled and blushed.

"Find me the ships and the weapons' specs ... specifications," Portia continued. "We need to know about the mounts they are currently on, so that we can figure out whether they can be mounted on the Venture or the Shuttles. If this requires us to cut hull, we need to know what materials are going to be necessary to do that ... and tools ... and--"

"I can do that!" Rachel cut in excitedly. She let Portia's hand go and grasped Vincent's instead, pulling at him to guide him toward the Science Station, saying, "Come on, let's get started. This is exciting, isn't it?"

Portia could see the questionable expression on the man's face; she only shrugged her shoulder and playfully mocked, "This is exciting ... isn't it?"

Portia watched the others as they delved into their tasks. She returned to the Command Chair to check on their course and speed and the condition of the Venture. For being an old piece of shit being operated by three Crew, a Cyborg, and a little girl, it was flying as true as could be. She told the others that she was going to go check on Carla Korlitz.