Ellie Blackmore, The Space Pirate
Chapter VI
Dapa Centauri rang Captain Lak's quarters and informed him that their arrival to Kepler 16 was imminent. She could see the planet in the forward observation port as they rapidly approached. The bridge hatchway swooshed open and she knew the captain had arrived by the sound of his heavy footfalls on the steel deck.
"Coming in a bit hot aren't we?" Ellie asked over the radio, with a touch of worry in her voice as she manned the helm of the Remus. "Don't forget about me and all the mass you're towing."
"I haven't," Dapa responded, her voice calm while she adeptly handled the controls as she steered the pirate vessel in on final approach. The atmosphere on the planet was quite thin, but the crew could still feel the ship decelerating as it plowed its way downward. The tractor beam towing the Remus reversed its primary purpose and retarded the speed of the trailing vessel to match that of the pirate ship.
Fortunately, the damage sustained by the Remus when the pirates had subdued her had been limited, so the engineers were able to power her positional thrusters along with the landing gear to allow a for safe arrival on the planet below. Sadly, it was the Remus' last journey as its main engines had been destroyed, and the pirates weren't in the habit of doing major rebuilds on vessels they'd damaged in the taking. She was going to be sold for scrap on the open market, which made Ellie and Dapa unhappy for obvious reasons.
"Steady as she goes, Chief Pilot," Lak growled from his command chair. Dapa was making him nervous indeed as he eyed the rapidly approaching landing zone. Dapa didn't deign to answer as she was busy at the helm. The thunder of thrusters rapidly firing shook the bridge as she banked the ship in a tight arc, then descended to settle neatly on the center of the pad. Ellie's cursing filled the speakers as she fought to stay aligned behind the pirate ship. A cloud of dust obscured the viewports as Ellie finally settled the huge ore freighter to the ground.
"Well done, Chief Pilot," Lak said in a relieved voice. Dapa had scared him shitless with her hotdog flying, but impressed him nonetheless. However, Ellie wasn't of the same mind.
"Damn it, Dapa! I almost ran right up your ass!" she shouted over comms.
"But you didn't, First Mate. Good job!" Dapa piped back, as she giggled aloud. She'd actually scared herself too, but hoped no one on the bridge had noticed. She'd pushed her flying skills quite a bit, but figured one can't improve without hanging their ass out on occasion.
"Listen up, crew!" Lak barked over the intercom system. "Make a safe ship and get us on shore power. The guard roster is posted and anyone caught fucking off will be disciplined severely. That's a valuable haul behind us and until I find a buyer, we're on high alert. The rest of you scurvy dogs are free to go ashore!"
Cheers filled the bridge as the flight crew powered down their consoles and made ready for a few days of liberty.
"Ellie, I'll send a vehicle for you, but remember, if you step outside, put on a mask. We all need to use them here." he commanded over the radio. He knew she was aware of the dangerous atmosphere, but he'd been growing fonder of her and seemed to worry about her well being more and more of late.
"Aye, aye, Cap'n!" her sweet voice promptly returned. He smiled to himself happily, glad at heart that he'd captured her and made her his, at least for the time being. He jerked in surprise as Dapa's lithe tail encircled his trim waist and he looked down to see her upturned face as she offered soft lips for a kiss. He took in her little green horns and flowing blue hair and decided that she was the most beautiful Tuarian female he'd ever seen. Ezri, his slave girl, was drop dead gorgeous, but Dapa had a beauty that was unmatched in his opinion.
Her smile drew him in like a bee to honey and he kissed her deeply while she hummed in appreciation.
"Mmmm, you're such a sweetheart," she whispered, as they broke apart. "Shall we find our dear Ellie?" she asked.
"Indeed. Be careful though, I think you ruffled her feathers back there," he teased. Dapa giggled as they left the bridge and went to the passage way that lead to the exit hatch of the vessel. A large umbilical from the landing facility had been attached to allow them access to the fully enclosed buildings that made up the city. The well formed backside of a familiar figure was ahead in line awaiting entry to the umbilical and Dapa saw a chance to make up with her former captain.
On light feet, she snuck up behind Ellie, then leapt on her back, nearly knocking her down before covering her in hot kisses that landed anywhere and everywhere.
"Damn it, Dapa! You scared the hell outta me!" Ellie said sharply, before being muffled by Dapa's sweet lips. "Mmmph, arrg!" she protested, until finally giving in and returning the little Tuarian's affections. Ellie was still pissed off, but Dapa always had a way of calming her down, usually with a soft voice and a sweet touch. Recently however, she'd resorted to caresses and less than innocent kisses, a new innovation that Ellie didn't entirely disapprove of, much to her personal angst. Lak joined Dapa and kissed Ellie while running a big hand over her firm behind and squeezing it gently.
"You did good, First Mate!" he said in a serious voice, which indeed she had. He was more than impressed with the two females skills in flying, both in the vacuum of space and below in a thicker atmosphere. Ellie blushed and glanced up at him with her single, emerald green eye. An eye that mesmerized him more with each passing day. She was wearing an eyepatch that nearly matched the shade of her remaining eye. It was almost prism like, glittering green and black as she turned her head in the artificial lighting. Her coal black hair and red lips were simply enchanting as he gazed down at her lovingly.
"What's next, big guy?" she asked the big, blue, seven foot tall Paladian.
"Well, number one is find a buyer for the ore. Of course he'll want it assayed before making an offer. I have a guy in mind. He's a bit weird to say the least, but he's been a good customer in the past. Let's look him up."
Both girls took an arm and he lead them out to the city while they chattered between themselves, taking in the odd sights as they walked.
"Head on a swivel, girls," he cautioned. "The place is rife with pirates who're always looking to take advantage." Ellie giggled to herself at his words and Dapa poked her with a stiff tail as she struggled to contain her own laughter. Apparently he didn't consider himself one of the aforementioned criminals. However, they both loosened the blasters they wore in their side holsters and paid more attention to the immediate surroundings. Soon enough, they came to a dark alley from where the thump of music and the dull roar of a crowd emanated.
"This saloon is where he conducts his business," Lak said. "Stay close to me and try not to cause trouble. It's a rough crowd in here."
They threaded their way though a menagerie of alien life forms, most of which types Ellie had never laid eyes on. Dapa was trailing Lak and as the aliens, male and female alike laid eyes on her, the catcalls and whistling began. When Ellie became visible in the dim lighting, the whole place went silent. Apparently, humans weren't seen there often, if ever, and certainly not a female. Lak's posture changed immediately as he assumed a defensive position, expecting trouble. Like flipping a light switch, shouts of amazement filled the air and the crowd of mostly males surged forward for a closer look at the two girls. Lak shouted threats and raised a huge fist in the air, hoping to frighten the hoard, but to no avail.
A long, sinuous tentacle whipped through an opening in the crowd and wrapped around Ellie's arm, ripping her off her feet as she cried out in surprise.
The unlucky owner of the tentacles head exploded as Dapa's blaster spat out a deadly plasma round. The slimy thing released it's grasp on Ellie and she scrambled to her feet while drawing her own side arm.
"Oh shit!" Lak grumbled under his breath as he freed his own blaster. "I knew I should of left you beauties two at home!" The girl's blasters dealt out death time and again every time an alien reached for them, covering the walls and ceiling with numerous colors of alien blood and brain matter.
