Stellar Ransom

[Vibro repairman]

Larik swallowed heavily as he felt the cold barreltip of Karia's plasma rifle against his left temple, and the cold words she whispered, arising feelings which were at marked odds with that of the warm hand and slender fingertips that lay against upon his waist, or her breath against his ear.

Jem's gait stilled, apparently assessing the situation before her, dark carapace crackling with energy.

"If you don't cease - I won't be much good to father. I'm sure he needs to keep my brain inside my skull from reaching boiling point," Larik said, glaring at Jem and imagining his father stood there in the things place.

"You probably know about the 'genetic flaw' that the Carter family suffers," he continued, but this time he was speaking more to Karia behind him than the combat bioroid Jem ahead, "that the average lifespan of a Carter is only about forty five years, despite any attempted gene-therapy treatments?... but here's something you won't know..."

"The fact that its intended. The 'genetic illness' was purposefully introduced into the genetic code of the Carter family DNA, to conceal a long-held secret. That my father... needs to transfer his conciousness into a new body, one specially prepared for it. The transferral process is inherently flawed, and his new hosts brain tissues begin to degenerate from the moment the process is completed, resulting in death at around the age of forty five."

"My father has been his own descendant for many generations, and he intends for me to be the new seat for his mind. Thats obviously why he's being taking these increased security measures for 'my' safety - he's looking after his future body. According to the data files I accessed, he has now about three years left at most. Guess his times coming up sooner than I hoped, and my partying days are drawing to a close."

"So, you know," came the low, still feminine voice of Jem, before us, taking another step forward.

"Yes, I found out several years ago... of course, there wasn't much I could do about it, the data files were too secure for risking copying for proof. But I'd rather the Captain here behind me fried my grey matter than let dear old dad get hold of it, so either stop, now, or I'll happily tell her to pull the trigger."

Jem shuddered, then the electricity that flickered over her carapace faded, and the genetically engineered armour itself began to recede back to reveal once more her soft pale skin, the glowing eyes returning to their natural crystal-blue irises, and she fell to her knees, eventually her from finally returned to the Jem I had long known.

"Where... am I?" she said, looking up, her eyes widening in surprise and shock. "Larik! Don't hurt him, please!" she pleaded.

The 'combat bioroid' seemed to be a seperate entity, a split conciousness inside her mind, and at the moment had retreated to let the Jem I knew back to the surface.

"I don't think... or at least, I hope... she isn't going to," I replied, waiting for Karia's response.

 

[Destiny]

Karia was a bit stunned by all the information she was hearing and she watched as the bioroid slowly changed back to Larik's love doll and she spoke over her shoulder. "Cameron between the eyes and then dump the carcass into space. Behind the engines, I don't' need a beacon giving away our destination. " She watched as Cameron moved forward and blasted Jem between the eyes and then moved to heft her up. "Better hurry old friend, you never know if she will awaken again."

Karia dragged Larik backward with her back to the intersection and then turned and shoved him back toward her quarters,"lets go you are going to make an announcement."

Moving Larik back toward her quarters she smiled as she looked over his body and licked her lips a bit and then remarked,"ya know for genetically engineered, you are not half bad looking." She dismissed the two men outside the door,"So that is why you haven't been fighting me this whole time. You don't' WANT to go home?" She shook her head and moved to the bed and sat down onto it and sighed a bit,"how much would it be worth to you if I kept you away from your father long enough for dear old Dad to die 'naturally' then y you can step into the shoes of ACEcorp?"

 

[Vibro repairman]

Larik, still somewhat stunned by Jem's demise at Karia's order, albeit one he understood was probably for the better despite the attachment he had gained for Jem, was further surprised by the question she now posed him.

Here he was, in the private quarters of one of the galaxies most notorius pirate captains, who was willing it seemed to strike some kind of deal. And he was naked. The situation would have seemed hilarious, if it wasn't so deadly serious.

He'd considered 'running' before of course to keep out of his fathers reach, but never really thought he could avoid the resources that ACEcorp would surely bring to bear to locate and retrieve him.

With Karia... he might have actually have a chance, to live out his life, his life. I'd be a fool not to take it, he thought, considering.

"I've never really pictured myself heading ACEcorp," he said, "and can't see myself doing so. ACEcorp makes millions of creds profit a day, over the numerous systems it operates legitimately, and probably millions more where it runs more... shady trading operations and projects."

"So... I imagine the sum for the corporations executive board to buy me out would be... quite considerable, to say the least. I'd be quite happy to split that with you."

"You understand, I've no real idea of how long my father actually has left... and ACEcorp will undoubtedly bring their full resources to bear to find me, or us, rather."

* * *

"They're closing!" Trentun shouted, as several lance pulses of laser fire from the batteries of one of the light frigates behind the Cupid's Arrow passed the small yacht.

"No shit!" Farrin growled, adjusting the course of the solar sailed ship.

"Warning fire - they'll not want to risk destroying us, they need us alive for questioning," Vran spoke from were he was working. "There! That damn tracking beacon is down."

"I think they know where we are," Trentun commented wryly.

"Not f'long," Vran said, "You know what ta do, Farrin?"

"Aye, I've worked out what yer up to," grinned Farrin, "they're right where we want 'em."

"Right where we want them?" came Trentun's now puzzled voice. "How many cases of that wine did you two get through?"

"Adjusting solar sails for plotted escape trajectory... hydrogen scoop activated, and ejecting from maneuvoring jet fuel intake. I hope this ship holds together, we're going to get one hell of a wind in our sails," Farrin said, hands running over the helm controls.

"They're firing again!" Trentun said.

"Closing scoop and halting fuel ejection... NOW!" Farrin said, shouting the last word.

The gathered gases from the gas giant the Cupid's Arrow had been skimming were being expelled in their wake, towards their pursuers. As the laser fire cut through it, it ignited, streaming back towards the light frigates in a fiery cloud, even as the sails of the yacht caught the additional energy given out by the explosion and hurtled the vessel outwards from the gas giant.

"Fucccccccckin hell!" Trentun cried out, only just managing to grab hold of the nav table to hold himself upright.

The two ACEcrop light frigates outer hulls were scorched black, their more delicate sensor arrays, having not been retracted as their captains saw no threat from the tiny yacht they were almost upon, fried. The feedback from the destroyed arrays caused a system overload, and the two vessels were suddenly deaf, dumb and blind, deprived of communications and sensors.

The Cupid's Arrow had escaped.

"Lay in a course for the rendeavous point, Farrin."

"Aye aye, Vran," smirked the helmsman, laying in the new course.

"Enjoy the ride, eh?" Vran said, looking over at the trembling Trentun, who only looked back in shocked silence.

 

[Destiny]

Karia "The Siren" Darksong

A small smile slid along her lips as she shrugged,"Full resources or not, you see this is how I work." She rose to her feet and walked over to the map. "There is a whole lot of space out there Larik, space you have never seen nor will see. But I know it is out there. I keep you out of your father's hands and you pay me half of what you get bought out of, deal?"

She looked up and smiled slightly,"you go your way I will go mine." Pushing a button she waited for Cameron to arrive,"Get him some clothes and place him back in the quarters next to mine, under guard of course. Oh and disable his com."

Looking back at Larik she smiled slightly,"Do you need a companion?"

 

[Vibro repairman]

Her eyes flickered over his body, and he felt the stirrings of arousal he was narrowly keeping in check again blossom into something more, and a blush began across his cheeks as he felt his blood slowly pumping into his cock.

"I'll be fine, thank you," he replied, and let his own eyes look over his captor - or his business partner, it now seemed - again. She was a quite beautiful woman, once you saw past the stern exterior she was want to exhibit.

He nodded, "And yes, we have a deal, Captain," returning her smile with one of his own.

Cameron handed him a neatly folded tunic and black britches, with a pair of knee-high boots that Larik recognised from his own wardrobe aboard the Cupid's Arrow.

"This way, please sir," Cameron said, waving a hand towards her cabin's exit.

Larik smiled once more at Karia, and headed for the door, mindful as he did of the now full-blown erection he kept concealed beneath the clothes he carried in his arms.

 

[Destiny]

Karia

Mindful of the man before her she smiled as she noticed the slight twitch in his genital region. His hand couldn't hide all of him and she nodded toward him as he left and she turned back to her mapping table. Her hands traced the lines there and she sighed a bit. It was going to be a long three years unless she could kill off Larik's father now.

Pushing a button she called through the com,"Sebastien lay in a course for Daylenius kairn We have to rendezvous with the Cupid's arrow in 20 hours."


She released the button and moved through the cabin to her bathroom. One thing she hated was waterless showers so she had kerina implement a gravity field here so she could have a real bath without threat of the water damaging precious electrical panels. stripping off her clothing she proceeded into the tub for the much needed bath.

 

[Vibro repairman]

"Still no sign of further pursuit," Trentun said, after making another long study of the yacht's sensor readings, trying to hide the tiredness in his voice.

"Good, expect them two cruiser captains wanted ta take the credit fer our capture themselves, and didn't call in any help. Instead, they'll have some hefty explainin' to do," Vran chuckled. "ETA on entry into the Daylenius kairn system, Farrin?"

"Two hours, twenty seven minutes," stated Farrin.

"I've juryrigged a short-range comm from the parts I removed to get to that damned alert beacon, which should do the job for getting a signal to the Cap'n," said Vran, "hope she had an easier time than we did. Get some kip, kid, I'll watch the sensors for now."

"Aye, and thanks," Trentun replied, heading for the main cabin.

* * *

Larik meanwhile was laid back on the bed of his newly assigned quarters aboard the Siren, staring up at nothing in particular as he contemplated the rapid events of the last couple of days, and a possible future he had not envisaged before.

In the cabin next door, Sebastian's voice cut through the rising steam of the bath Karia had immersed herself in. "Cap'n, you might want to hear this, patching in a GalNet broadcast..."

...bzzzt in view of no ransom demands having been received, Mr Edgar Carter has offered a reward of fifty million credits for information leading to the location of his son. Meanwhile, the remains of two ACEcorp light cruisers, the Victor and the Ganymede, involved in the widing search for the kidnappers, were discovered in the Nabia system, all hands lost. In other news, the Zero-G vockey team, Ferris Wolves, rode to an easy victory when bzzzt...

"I've taken the liberty of closing outgoing communications except with your authorisation, Cap'n," Sebastian added.