Stonerager Chronicles -

Stonerager Chronicles

By 2Charlie

This is a science fiction series that happens to include occasional erotic scenes. If you have not yet read previous chapters of this series, I highly recommend going back to do so before you read this chapter.

All characters in this story are of the age of majority.

Chapter 04

*****

"What do you plan to do with them," Alisia asked Dutch as he was getting dressed.

"I've been worrying over that very question most of the night," he admitted, a look of concern crossing his face.

"I can't imagine that the iShan'tal leadership will be very happy with the depth of their failure. D'narius lost her ship, and the majority of her crew, and then had the bad grace to allow herself to be captured by a Terran, a race thought to have been subjugated."

"What does that mean, exactly?" he asked her, scratching at his beard.

"I would expect that, at a minimum, all Terran jump gates have been destroyed," she replied dispassionately as if reading from a shopping list. "Any Terran vessels with Jump Point technology will have been destroyed. Surviving colonies will have been left isolated, making it unlikely they could again become a threat soon." She paused, realizing that Dutch was clenching his fists so tightly that his forearms were trembling, his face a grimace of anger, before she added, as if to reassure him, "It is highly unlikely that the iShan'tal command would have gone to the extreme lengths to completely exterminate humanity, as they could feasibly yet serve some ultimate purpose to the Hegemony."

Dutch closed his eyes, concentrating on taking deep, measured breaths to keep himself from flying into a rage. He understood that Alisia was not trying to provoke him, she was merely attempting to inform him. Her matter-of-fact approach, however, struck him as oddly clinical and ignored the fact that she - and all of the clones created by the iShan'tal bearing the same likeness - constituted some of what remained of humankind, if not humanity.

At that moment, the Galley hatch opened, and Pheebs stepped through, speaking to the two clones following her as she entered the space. "And here we have the other space where our Captain works his magic. Oh! Good morning, Dutch!" she said, feigning a surprise that he doubted was genuine. "I didn't expect to see you here." She grinned at him, stepping aside for D'narius and Jjan'tira to enter.

Striding up to him, she rose up onto her tiptoes to kiss him, before stepping over to the synthesizer to get some breakfast. Alisia just smiled, as the other two women looked a bit uncertain about what to do.

As if he'd read their minds, Dutch stepped over to them, offering them an assortment of breakfast pastries, and asked them, "So, what do you ladies think you want to do now?"

Taken aback, D'narius wasn't sure what he was actually asking of her. "I beg your pardon?" she responded after a moment, gulping down her initial response, which was something rather carnal in nature.

Smiling good-naturedly at her and Jjan'tira, he asked her, "What would you two like to do at this point? Do you wish to return to the iShan'tal, or do you have other thoughts on what you'd like to do? If I were to find a way to safely effect your return, would you be welcomed home without recrimination, or would you be punished for the loss of your ship and crew? I am trying to decide what to do with you, but you get a vote on the matter."

D'narius cocked her head to one side with a puzzled look on her face, replying softly to his question, "I wasn't aware that we had alternatives. Perhaps you would care to lay out what you believe our options could include?"

Dutch rubbed the stubble on his chin as he considered his response. "Well, we can start with the big binary options - you stay aboard Odyssey, or you don't. Then we can go from there, based on your preferences. I don't want to pressure either of you in any particular direction. I won't lie - this vessel was originally made for a test flight, but its mission parameters and capabilities have definitely changed from the original program, so I could use the extra help. Why don't the two of you mull that over while we grab breakfast? After, we can huddle up and go from there."

Pheebs raised her voice, speaking to the room without turning around, "I'm making sausage and egg bagels, accompanied by cherry tomatoes, with orange pineapple juice to drink. Pull up chairs to the table, and the food will be ready in a few minutes."

Jjan'tira looked interested in what Pheebs was doing over at the food synthesizer. Moving over to speak with her, she suggested, "Perhaps you could show me how to use this device so that I can help prepare meals from time to time."

"Of course - let's plan on giving that a shot at lunch, shall we?" Pheebs suggested gently, giving Jjan'tira an encouraging smile.

Dutch noticed that the clones had all done their hair differently. Alisia had left her hair long, parted on one side, with the short side held up behind her ear with a hair comb. D'narius had her hair pulled back into a simple ponytail, while Jjan'tira had her hair done up in a long braid.

"So, D'narius, I was wondering if we could review star charts later this morning. I'm way behind on where the cool kids hang out."

She eyed him strangely, a slight smile on her face. "I'm not sure I understand. Cool kids?"

He waved his hand dismissively at her, shaking his head. "Never mind - it used to be a turn of phrase, but perhaps it's not as widely used as it once was. I need to update my ship's Nav Computer with current locations - settlements, territories, trade hubs, anything you feel like sharing about non-human species... I'm centuries out of date, and don't even know what's fashionable anymore," he smiled.

"You're such an odd human," D'narius replied, looking at him like she'd discovered a bug in her juice, not quite knowing when he was being serious and when he was attempting to be funny.

"I don't know, I think he's cute," Jjan'tira muttered softly around a mouthful of bagel.

Dutch glanced over at her and realized she was fucking him with her eyes over breakfast. Suppressing a grin, he looked back to D'narius and continued, "I'm afraid that even the intel that the Tao shared with us is centuries out of date. It would be nice to have better situational awareness regarding where we can or can't travel freely, where we can make port to resupply, and which systems pose dangers where we need to be more careful. Anything along those lines that you can help me to improve my situational awareness would be greatly appreciated."

She nodded to him over her cup of coffee, glad to have finally identified a beverage on this ship that helped her to focus.

"Dutch, if you don't mind, I'll spend some time with Pheebs to help her sort through the data she's been able to salvage from... the... Terran sources, among others, to see if anything there proves helpful," Alisia offered, as Pheebs caught his eye and winked at him. There was probably more to discuss, but the two of them were being a bit circumspect, so he rolled with it.

"Sounds like a plan. Jjan'tira, you're free to join in either effort," Dutch told the youngest clone, ensuring they were all included. "Totally up to you. Come to think of it, I have no idea what your previous specialty was, so it'll be up to you to inform me of what areas you'd like to participate in and where you think you can be most helpful."

"My previous posting was navigations, so I'll probably be of most use working with you, Dutch," Jjan'tira offered after a pause. "Something tells me you've got a pretty steep learning curve ahead of you, given that you've missed the last eleven hundred years. I'm not sure I even understand what Terran knowledge included back in your time."

Dutch grimaced just a bit, hating to admit any vulnerabilities or gaps in his knowledge to a potential adversary. Still, he reminded himself that he was trying to decide whether or not he could develop a trusting camaraderie with them. If so, they'd make good additions to his crew. If not, he needed to find an off-ramp as soon as possible to set them ashore.

Cleaning up his breakfast, he begrudgingly admitted to her, "We knew damned little about the galaxy back in my time. We had not yet encountered anyone from beyond our world, so some still fooled themselves into believing that we were alone, or perhaps we were the most advanced of existing species and thereby were the first to travel to the stars. Utter bilge, and completely arrogant if you ask me."

"Definitely a steep learning curve, then," she quipped, smiling softly at him to lessen the harshness of her evaluation.

Dropping his dishes into the recycler, Dutch washed his hands quickly in the sonic sink, then turned to the ladies to ask, "Before we get started, do you ladies have anything you need that we haven't thought to offer to you yet?"

"I'm down for a little more of the things you've already offered, but that can wait until later," D'narius said not quite under her breath.

Pretending he hadn't heard her, Dutch maintained a poker face, looked around to see if there were any other replies, and then began moving toward the hatch. "Very well, then. I'll take my team to the bridge, and we'll see you guys a bit later," he nodded to Pheebs and Alisia as he made his exit. D'narius and Jjan'tira hurried to follow him out of the galley, leaving the Pheebs and Alisia by themselves.

As soon as the hatch closed, Alisia leaned closer to Pheebs and spoke to her in a low voice, "Have you and Dutch become aware of the iShan'tal secret sign language?"

Pheebs nodded once, eyeing her companion with interest.

"Have you been able to understand what we were saying?"

"No," Pheebs replied truthfully. "We lacked the appropriate primer to translate what was said. However, we have recordings of them, so if you could assist with the primer..." Pheebs trailed off, eyeing Alisia with one eyebrow raised questioningly.

"That's what I wanted to go over with you this morning," Alisia explained as she cleared away her breakfast. "I can give you a quick translation, and that would assist you and Prime with translating what those two have been saying to each other when they thought no one else knew."

"That would be very helpful," Pheebs admitted. "At least then, we'd have some way of knowing whether or not we have a problem that we'll need to deal with."

*****

"Prime, can you make the data we grabbed from the K'vetch 581 available at this console?" Dutch requested the ship's AI.

"Affirmative, Captain," the computer replied quickly. "I will present the data in the format in which I found it, to make it easier for her former crew to access it as they would have normally."

"Ladies, I'm going to have to ask you to think about this data a little differently than you would have before we met. While this ship may not be a designated enemy of the iShan'tal, I have to assume that our movements will be observed and treated differently than yours back on the K'vetch."

D'narius leaned in, interacting with the menu displayed on the console to bring up a star chart. She then tapped a few keys to create a segmented overlay, mapping out different colored regions on the chart. "These areas in red are those controlled and monitored by the iShan'tal. They have not previously displayed an interest in ruling the known regions of space," she explained, with Dutch noting how she said 'they', and not 'we' when referring to the iShan'tal. She continued, "Their interest lies mostly in putting down any potential threat to their hegemony - to their authority. They are completely intolerant of any other race seeking to establish broad dominion. They see that as a direct challenge, and the moment one is detected, then they are galvanized to take whatever measures are necessary to eliminate the perceived threat."

"Okay, so will they perceive Odyssey as directly connected to the threat they associated with broader humanity?" Dutch asked, wondering if she understood her makers enough to give him an accurate assessment.

"I can't say with certainty, as they are obviously on what you might call a fire watch," she answered as if aware of his concern, "looking to quickly put out any sparks that could lead to a fresh conflagration if ignored. I'd advise caution."

Jjan'tira leaned in and, using her fingertip, began to add select locations on the map. "These areas," she explained as she dropped data points onto the display, "are non-aligned systems that the iShan'tal largely ignores. All matter of species can be found associating freely in these areas - even Terrans - but in small numbers, on smaller ships."

"By and large, most ships with jump engines tend to be on the larger side," D'narius explained, seeing Dutch's question on his face before he gave voice to it. "Odyssey is definitely the exception. I've not before encountered a ship this capable, and yet this small - relatively speaking."

"Terran warships with jump engines were easily triple Odyssey's mass," Jjan'tira continued, "which is why we were completely unprepared for the level of firepower you displayed - not to mention the small moon."

"I concur," D'narius nodded, absent-mindedly rubbing one of Jjan'tira's shoulders soothingly, "the diversity and magnitude of the firepower you displayed were impressive, especially coming from a ship that, at best, would be considered a light corvette class of vessel."

"About the only thing consistent with a vessel of this class was your maneuverability. You were faster, overall, but still highly maneuverable, which makes for a great combination." Pausing to consider her next words with care, she looked him directly in the eye and asked him, "Tell me truthfully, Stonerager, what do you plan to do with this ship?"

The directness of her question made him hesitate for a moment. After careful thought, he tried to answer her in an equally direct manner. "I have not yet decided. I would like to do what I can to understand what remains of the Terran empire." He began to pace around the bridge a bit, glancing around from time to time to see what impact his words would have on the clones. "I still don't have a good understanding of what exactly the Terran Empire was, and whether it was a good thing or a bad thing. In my time, anytime something was referred to as an empire, it could go either way, but it usually denoted something that had grown through conquest as much as colonization." He stopped pacing, having returned to the nav console. Sighing, he shook his head, looking at something not in the room. "I'm certainly no fan of conquerors, but I feel like I have options to try to make things better - I just have to figure out how, and where."

Catching an odd motion out of the corner of his eye, he saw D'narius making tiny motions with her right hand while looking toward Jjan'tira, an odd look on her face. Reaching out slowly, he took her hand in his and raised it to kiss it, holding it to his face for just a moment before releasing her. "Whatever the two of you are discussing, you should feel free to discuss it aloud. I promise, no harm will come to you. The worst outcome would be that we find someplace safe to set you off of this ship."

D'narius was blushing furiously at her error, realizing Dutch was aware of her secret 'language'.

"She was telling me that you are a man of good moral character and that she was reconsidering her options," Jjan'tira interjected, attempting to relieve the sudden tension that had filled the bridge, "but was also finding you attractive as a male and..." she stopped abruptly, looking away demurely.

"And... what?" Dutch asked, looking back and forth between the two. Now both females were blushing, not wanting to make eye contact with him.

Finally, still averting her eyes, Jjan'tira mumbled, "And she thinks you would make fine breeding stock," so softly he almost did not hear her, finally looking back up at him, pleading with her eyes for him not to be upset or further press the matter, before adding in an almost whisper, "as do I."

*****

"So, based on the primer you have helped me to create, we shall review the covert conversations you and D'narius were having before Dutch released you from your cell," Pheebs said as she slid the time increment back on the video recording from the brig, Stopping just after Dutch had left them with their breakfast sandwiches.

On the monitor, Jjan'tira and Alisia both stepped forward to take their plates from the serving portal, sitting on their bunks to eat what Dutch had given them. Across the corridor, D'narius glared at Alisia, clearly fuming at something, and immediately began flicking her fingers in an agitated way. Prime added subtitles to explain what was being communicated.

[D'narius: What do you think he plans to do with us?]

[Alisia: I have no idea. I don't know who he is, so I can't even guess at his motivation.]

[D'narius: Where did you say you were when he captured you?]

[Alisia: He didn't capture me. He found me and saved me. I was trapped in a sleeper tube. I had been on Ganymede on a secret mission, back before the hostilities spread to the Terran system. So, I'd been in hibernation for quite some time.]

[Jjan'tira: How is that possible? You're from the same series as us.]

[Alisia: Our series had been in use since the beginning of the war against the Terrans, so roughly 50 years by the time I was decanted.]

[D'narius: What was the nature of your secret mission?]

[Alisia: I was seeking alternatives to end the conflict. There were concerns that the Terrans could prevail, and options were being explored.]

[D'narius: You lie! The iShan'tal have never been defeated!]

[Alisia: Truly? Let me ask you this, sister: are the Lam'Daal line of dreadnaughts still top-of-the-line ships in our fleet? I didn't recognize the class of your cruiser, but it did not appear as... capable.]

[D'narius: The K'vetch class heavy cruiser is the state-of-the-art warship in the iShan'tal fleet today. With a crew of 75, they are indomitable.]

[Alisia: Interesting. This ship bested your 'indomitable' K'vetch without taking a single hit. For your information, the Lam'Daal dreadnaughts had crews of nearly 1,500, not including the pilots and support crew of the 50 fighter craft that they carried. And the Terran ships were their equal in combat, often carrying larger compliments of fighter craft, and easily able to stand toe-to-toe with a single Lam'Daal class vessel. Just before my mission, the home world was expanding resource harvesting operations to a dozen more systems to keep up with war material demands.]

[Jjan'tira: If that is so, then why have we never heard of these... Lam'Daal dreadnaughts? Let alone seen them?]

"Prime, please pause playback," Pheebs said suddenly, interrupting the discourse. Turning to Alisia, she narrowed her eyes to scrutinize the clone closely. "Were you making that up about the Lam'Daal dreadnaughts?"

"I assure you, I was not," Alisia replied immediately, not looking away from Pheebs, but holding her stare. "I had served as an interceptor pilot, and my squadron was attached to one before accepting my secret mission to Ganymede. And, I was not lying - the pace of our losses during the height of hostilities with the Terrans was outstripping our ability to replenish them, in terms of ships and crew. The iShan'tal usually wage heinously aggressive wars of attrition, but we had appeared to have met our match against the Terrans. That was why one of the iShan'tal Battle Masters commissioned my expedition."

Pheebs again went back to the interface, calling up images they had recorded from the graveyard of ships she and Dutch had encountered upon their return to the Sol System. Directing Alisia's attention to the images, she asked her, "By any chance, can you discern whether any of the ships in this image were of the Lam'Daal class?"