Dawn of Surrender

[Noon_Shadow]

As he sat in his quarters, Captain William Vargas browsed through his various intelligence reports. With the flick of his fingers he was scrolling through pages of intercepted communications and sensor readings., and he couldn’t help but feel a bit smug. No encryption was flawless. Even though the Confederation updated their codes daily, he was still able to spy on at least some of their communications. A big part of the reason the Grey Dawn were developing such a fearsome reputation was that they had good intelligence, and a tendency to make daring strikes. Vargas knew that a growing portion of internal security for the Confederation was dedicated to stopping him, and that if they didn't have enemies outside their own borders, he would never be as successful as he was.

But for now, his band was growing in notoriety. The Grey Dawn (they fashioned themselves as revolutionaries, despite being common pirates-it was good to have noble pretense) now had several ships, all more heavily armed than standard vessels of their class. Vargas almost welcomed the increased attention from those damned imperialists-he enjoyed his reputation. After so many years toiling in obscuring, he had well earned it as he’d honed his skill by leading the defense of his home on the fringe of Federal authority. Having grown tired of fighting against constant marauders, he had instead become one of them.

Now...now he had a plan of becoming a truly great threat. Sometime he might just buy his own planet and set himself up as a ruler, spitting at the Confederation with the imperialist agenda. His eyes narrowed as he reviewed a sensor log with a quick, fractured communication that had been intercepted this morning. Several ships, looking for him, had been shifted away from defense and into patrolling. It was growing more dangerous to operate in this area, but...they were leaving something lightly defended. At least, relatively so. They were starting to learn just how well big his group was, and how well armed, but they couldn't have considered the Namai might be vulnerable. Namai...one of the richest colony worlds. It was too tempting a target. The loot they could get with just one hour on the planet could make them all rich-given more time, they might become the most notorious outlaws he had ever heard of.

"Pradzia Vyras....assemble the senior crew in the briefing room," he announced over the comm system. His second acknowledged him with a quick, "Aye," though with a hint of annoyance at having been interrupted. It was likely that she was gambling with the crew, one of her favorite pasttimes during light hours. That, and fucking them. He smirked, as he rose. He glanced out the window for a moment. They had stopped for repair near the upper atmosphere of a gas giant in an uninhabited system. His ship, the Vieta Laivas, was quiet in the dark of space, and the star of this system was a dim distant object for them. He shook his head and growled softly-it made him feel small, and William Vargas would not abide being a small man. He studied his reflection in the full-sized mirror adjacent his bed. He was just shy of 2 meters tall, well built with dark hair-the long scar running from his cheekbone down over his jawline. No, he wasn't a small man. He had plans, big plans, and dreams of glory, loot...and captives. He allowed that last thought to humor him as he went to brief his senior crew.

 

[mirandavillere]

The limo dropped Dulci off, and waited until she was in the building before pulling away. The school had its own security protocols, and outside guards were not allowed. Even for Dievas Valdova's daughter. The Governor of this wealthiest of colonies, who many said had more power, wealth and influence than the Prime Minister back on Earth. His men had reviewed the school's security and had found it more than acceptable. There were many daughters of many powerful people that went to school there. Namai might be the richest colony in the Confederation, but it was still remote, and there was still always a risk of rebels, pirates and other scum. The school was a virtually impenetrable fortress, and never more than today, when the Grey Dawn's flagship had been spotted in the system.

None of that mattered to Dulci, though. The school was nearly impossible to get into, but getting out was as easy as counting to twenty. She was nearly at the security check-in when she popped her eyes and whispered "NO!"

She opened her school bag and pretended to look through it for a moment, and then looked to the security guard. "I left my assignment for Professor Reiklus in the car!"

The guard rolled his eyes, but gave her a nod, and she darted out. The limo had gone by then, and wouldn't be back til 6, when her flight practice would be over. Since she had never checked in, the school would not immediately take action when she left campus. It was a crack so obvious that she was still amazed how well it worked, but she sauntered down to the street as bold as day, and climbed into a taxi. A whole day free of bodyguards and attendants and teachers and rules.

She grinned and told the driver to take her to the Prabanga Mall. She waved a fan of cash at him. No point in using credit, which would just make it easier to trace, and the driver wouldn't feel obliged to report the fare when he could pocket the bills. While they drove, she opened her bag. She stripped off her school uniform and slipped on a dress so sexy she had never dared show her father. It was tiny, barely covering her ass and cut so low at the neck that the dark curve of her aureoles showed clearly. What there was of it clung to her like a second skin and changed colors according to her heart rate and skin temperature. It was designed to show the wearer's level of excitement, and was called the Love Dress. She put on thigh high boots with 5" spike heels and had just zipped them up when they reached the mall.

The driver smirked as he took her money, and the thought that she had given him a free show made her blush. The dress changed from a cool green to a bright orange as she walked towards the doors of the mall. This was where the finest shopping in the galaxy was, but she went past the boutiques and the stalls that welcomed visitors. In the tower was the jewelers mall, where the greatest craftsmen in the galaxy worked with exotic metals and stones of unimaginable worth.

Dulci glanced at herself in the mirror. She was 18, 5'6 with a perfect body and silky black hair that fell to her waist in a web of braids. She knew men wanted her, and she loved the power it gave her. With her dress and her body, she knew she could walk out wearing a small fortune in jewelry, if she played it just right.

 

[Noon_Shadow]

“Captain, I don’t think we could afford to stay in system more than 6 hours before we’d have to leave, in order to stay ahead of the Fleet. This is quite fucking risky.” That was Harlin Frem. He was an experienced raider, having joined up with the Grey Dawn Pirates after the Hawkbats had been ambushed and defeated. It was saying something that HE was concerned about this target. Still.

“Harlin, I plan to be out of the system in FOUR hours, and you will still have enough time on the planet to make yourself a very rich man.” Vargas pointed to the holoimage again. “Five ships. We focus on the orbital defenses on this half of the planet,” he gestured, “And then we drop landing craft. They only have three vessels of the line to defend the planet, and only one of those can match the Vieta Laivas gun for gun. Their Civil Defense Force is a joke, we'll have air support ready just in case they put up a fight. We grab what we can-our crews should have over 2 hours on the surface-and get the hell out."

Captain Vargas glanced around the room. Pradzia was grinning broadly-almost lustily. She was definitely eager. On the viewscreen, he had several other subordinate captains tuned into this briefing as well, awaiting their orders. There were several stoic faces there. It was rare when even outlaws and miscreants like his crew were daunted by the riskiness of an attack. Governor Valdova had a bit of reputation for ruthlessness, and for bearing a grudge, true, but these men under his watch had already made themselves enemies of the entire Confederation. He was surprised to see even a subtle hint of timidity among them. He hoped they didn't represent his entire crew-what a nasty mess that was. With a scowl, he slammed his fist on the table, standing up.

"We're going. Now. If anyone has a problem with that, I'm going to launch you out the nearest airlock." Captain Vargas then pointed accusing at the viewscreen. "And if any of you scumbags turn coward on me and refuse to bring your own ships, you'd best remember that I know how to make sure you take a long time dying." He'd found that his words had had their desired effect on his compatriots. Most of the captains under him followed him only grudgingly, thinking themselves independent contractors lending him their services, so it did to remind them who the hell he was. He felt a slight thrill as his senior crew also felt suitably rebuked. Yes, he enjoyed the lifestyle, and the grim reputation he was compiling, but the one thing that truly fulfilled him was being commanding. To take others, to break down their will, and to force them to submit to him. Those on his ship knew about his wicked little games, and how he enjoyed training girls that would end up being sold to the Arnorian slavers. They knew of his own private playroom, and they were apprehensive about entering it. Which was he occasionally had fun summoning female members of his crew there to issue orders, just to watch them squirm.

He wished he were going to be landing on Namai, to bring back a dainty for him to play with. But no, he had to stay with his ship. His place would be on the bridge. He just had to trust that his crew would bring back one or two for him to enjoy. It did them well to placate these desires of his. But now, he had to focus. William was trying to clear his head as he strode toward the bridge, and to calm down his heart, which was beating rapidly. His footsteps seemed inordinately loud in the cold metal corridor. There was a tingling apprehension on his spin and seeming to flow down to his fingertips. After he'd just admonished his crew to stow their timidity, was he growing nervous himself? He realized it was a landmark moment-this would make his reputation, but a miscalculation anywhere, and it would break him. Of course...that also thrilled him.

He was chuckling softly to himself as he entered the bridge of his ship. He strode to his command chair. "Helm," he commanded, "Set course for Namai. We need to drop out of hyperspace in close orbit. All crew, stand by weapons." He allowed a few moments for the captains on his other ships to prepare to join him, and then gave the order. "Go."

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Hours later, the sky above Namai lit up brightly as not one, but five pirate vessels arrived in orbit, and Vieta Laivas immediately opened fire on an orbital missile platform. The bright lights of heavy energy weapons could be clearly seen from the planet's surface. Captain Vargas grinned broadly, wondering what kind of panic he was causing on the planet's surface as the missile platform exploded almost immediately.

 

[mirandavillere]

She was looking at a glove of webbed silver set with dozens of tiny purple amythest crystals, that the salesman said brought out her eyes. There was at least one dirty old bastard with a rich suit on circling, and she was waiting for just the perfect moment to sigh and thank the salesman. If the old goat wanted it bad enough, he'd buy her the glove. Before she could find her moment, though, there was a flash and a distant rumble, like a thunderstorm approaching.

She glanced up towards the skylights, but the sky was clear blue. A heartbeat later, she grey bulk of a warship flashed across the sky, gone so fast she would have wondered if she'd really seen it. Would have, except the skylight exploded, and she barely was quick enough to dive out of the way of the falling glass. The old vulture screamed for a moment, and then died as a sharp blade slashed across his throat. A half dozen men, viciously armed and manic in their savagery, poured down through the skylight. Dulci huddled on the floor as they traded fire with the security teams the jewelers hired.

Her dress seemed to glow almost white with terror as the pirates blasted away, killing the security forces with as much thought as they'd give to swatting a fly. One of them had the salesman in a hold and was jabbing him with a nasty-looking knife, demanding the combination for the safe, while the others spread out, smashing displays and helping themselves to a fortune in jewelry. She was trembling in absolute terror before they spotted her, but one of them grabbed her hair and dragged her up onto her knees.

"What do you think?" he called to the others, pressing a pistol to the back of her head, making her shriek in terror.

"Vargas," a different one said. His voice was commanding.

"Fuck that," the first snarled back.

There was a snap of gunfire, and the man holding her up fell back, shot twice by the other one. She clasped her hands like she was praying and begged him to leave her, but in a moment she was in a net, being hauled up through the skylight to the transport hovering above. Below her, the salesman was crawling across the floor, gathering his fingers while the pirates opened the safe. Looking out across the city, she saw other ships, raining fire down while smaller transports dropped men and collected loot.

Then she was in the ship. They left her in the net, pushing her out of the way as they hauled up more of their treasure. When she screamed at them to let her go, she was hit with a backhand that made her black out for a few minutes, and stay silent when she came to.

 

[Noon_Shadow]

Captain Vargas was glancing at the chronometer, and it was like a mental countdown ticking in his head. The raid had started at 1800, ship's time, so he had to be sure he was out of the system by 2200 hundred. Reasonably, they had more time than that, but it wasn't like he knew the locations of ALL the Fleet's ships. A small armada could drop out of hyperspace and he wouldn't have very much warning at all. This was why he had absolutely no time to waste. He had issued a quick warning over his communication channels that any man or woman still on planet when the dropships were ready to take off would be left to the tender mercies of the locals...and that could be very grim.

His ship was maneuvering. The captain of Lutadorio, the biggest enemy ship in the system, had finally worked through his indecision. As soon as the pirates had arrived in orbit, he had been put into a tough spot. Anyone worth his command would have quickly realized that he wasn't a match for the pirates forces, who had attacked with initiative and superior numbers. The smart move would have been a tactical retreat, to preserve his vessel to fight another day. But that would have meant alienating Governor Valdova, a very dangerous enemy to have. He's almost certainly face accusations of cowardice as a result of that action, probably sufficient to earn him an execution. Which was probably why he was now posturing to attack.

Vargas could have almost admired his courage. His own ship was flanked by two vessels, and an attack would required the Lutadorio braving the fire all three enemies. Almost...if it had not also implied an element of cowardice. Fleeing would have saved his ship and the lives of his crew, at the cost of his pride and most likely his life. Right now he was spending the lives of his crew on a desperate gamble, that some lucky shot might defeat his enemies or that he could survive his vessel's destruction. Discretion, as the old saying went, was truly the better part of valor. Vargas meant to make this man pay for lacking both.

**************************************************************************

Harlin had landed his dropship right in the capital. What pitiful resistance there was, it was more intense in that area. He'd taken it on a strafing run of the local civil defense base, and then dropped it down right by the plaza. Several other ships had targeted warehouses where weapons were stockpiled, and the valuable fyrazi crystals which helped power starships, and the rest had been free to pick their own targets. Harlin Frem knew that the most decadent examples of wealth would be right in the capital city. He had left two men to defend the dropship and had dropped right into the mall through the skylight. There were screams, and anyone who appeared ready to resist was quickly gunned down-there were bodies littered near where the ship had landed, and blood turning dark on the walkway. A salesman who seemed about to protest had a knife emerge from his throat. Frem smiled as his men started bagging up the gems and other valuables-lightweight and extremely valuable, it was exactly the kind loot that was appropriate.

One of his men had spotted a trembling girl in a white dress, cut scandalously short. Her breasts seemed ready to pop out and her panties were flashing out between her legs as she lay on the floor. “What do you think?” he asked Frem.

“Vargas,” Frem snapped back quickly. Yes, it was good to take a sweet thing like this back to appease the boss. There’d be other wenches. This one…innocent and sweet, and trembling like she was…yeah, he knew his boss would enjoy that. Frem only regretted that he wasn’t in charge of his own pirate b and.

“Fuck that,” said his man, snarling, and making to grab at her. Was the damn fool about to rape her on the spot? There was no bleeding time for that! What an idiot. With disgust, he turned his gun and put two bullets through the man’s center.

Frem then gave a quick gesture to two other men, sending them to quickly secure this wench and send her up to the ship. He grinned and then dashed out, determined to strip this place clean before he boarded the next dropship, preparing to sack up a nice haul of loot. Maybe he’d even have enough to retire after this.

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The Vieta Laivas rocked under a quick barrage of fire. The Lutadorio's captain was doing a fair job. His shields were getting close to failing, his ships sustaining light damage. But the net was closing around Lutadorio, with one of Vargas' smaller supporting ships about to cut around its flank. As they opened fire, so did Vargas, and a small explosion with an escaping of gas signified that he'd breached their hull. Another quick flurry of fire, and Lutadorio was completely adrift, leaving Vargas' pirates as the only forces in the system, aside from the remaining orbital defenses still on the wrong side of the planet. Those he would leave.

"Captain, your men are sending up a fine present for you," announced a voice over the comm. His lips curled with satisfaction, knowing exactly what they meant. He licked them slightly, then glanced at the ship's chronometer. He still had a while left before he could give the order to leave and enjoy his gift, but he felt a stirring of excitement at the prospect.

"Leave her clothes unspoiled, if possible," he announced. "Give her some water-make sure her hands are secured, then have her delivered to my special briefing room." His men knew exactly what he meant by that. Now there was nothing to do but wait. He dare not leave the bridge in the middle of combat, as much as he was wondering exactly what his men had delivered for him this time. In the back of his mind, he pretended he could already hear the sound of her screams.