The GEM - A short space pirate story - Tyger’s Contest #4

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The red alert began to sound inside the space freighter, at the moment when the impacts of the enemy attack hit the FTL engine.

The space freighter stopped, losing its ability to maneuver.

A dark spaceship with a white scull painted kept distant from the space freighter

— Direct hit on the target, Jax — Dana informed his colleagues

— All right, Mike and I will start boarding the space freighter

— This is the Black Hornet, lower your shields or you will be destroyed — Dana informed the space freighter

— Desist your attack. This is a Traxian spaceship. Any attempted on boarding will be considered an act of war.

Jax activated some buttons and pull some levers and immediately, the small hunting spaceship uncoupled from the Hornet.

— Take care of Lucy

— Relax, this will be as simple as taking candy from a baby — interrupted Mike on the intercom

— Keep your eyes open! — Jax warned

— Understood — Dana replied.

Dana had a bad feeling about the booty they would get from the space ship.

Jax and Mike ignored warning messages from the space freighter. They attached the Bumblebee in the cargo bay of the space freighter and detonated the entrance door.

Mike lashed out at the droids guarding the cargo bay. He frantically shook everything that moved in front of him, while he bit his cigar along with a cynical smile. Blasts of light were falling from his weapon incessantly while pieces of droids scattered through the air.

— A piece of cake — Mike murmured

— Go to the lower stores. I’m heading for the bridge! — Jax yelled through the communicator

— Roger — Mike replied.

Jax opened her backpack and pulled out the feline.

— Lucy, do your thing.

— Aye captain — the feline replied.

Lucy entered a passageway in the corridor and began to walk quickly in search of the precious cargo.

Upon reaching the bridge, Jax began to examine the log files.

— The lower stores are empty — reported Mike

— Roger that!

— We’ll have company in less than 15 minutes. Hornet’s sensors indicate 3 imperial traxian destroyers approaching — Dana informed by the communicator.

— Understood — answered Jax and Mike.

Jax was going to give the order to retreat, when he was interrupted by Lucy's voice

— Guys, we have a problem. I found the “gem”. You better come here.

Jax loaded the planes of the spaceship into the virtual communication system and immediately drew a route to where Lucy was

A few minutes later, both Jax and Mike arrived at a large room with consoles around a hibernation pod where the supposedly precious cargo was.

— What the hell is this? — Mike asked

— Apparently it is a hibernation capsule and my sensors can detect there is a Traxian girl inside — Lucy informed

— A Traxian GEM. A Genetic Enhanced Model, to be more specific — Lucy added

— Gem or not, we will take it with us — said Jax and began to activate the capsule's console controls, initiating the process to awaken the girl. However, the automatic room defense system was activated

— Warning an unauthorized attempt on hibernation console has been detected. Initiating defense protocol.

A panel from the wall opened, giving way to a battle droid, which began to open fire on them. Lucy fled in terror and slipped between conduits, while Mike and Jax took cover and returned the fire.

— Jax! Another android is coming towards you through the roof! — Lucy informed

— You must be kidding — Jax replied seeing the second android walked towards them through the roof

He opened fire on this new android, who dodged all his shots.

— Guys, stop playing and hurry up — informed Dana

— Give us a few seconds — they answered in unison

Both droids dodged the shots and approached them quickly. One of the droids took Jax by the neck and held his gun too.

— Take this fracking droid! — Mike yelled, as he fired his weapon against the android that held Jax, freeding him. However, Mike was injured in the back with the impact of the beam received by the first android, throwing him unconscious several meters away.

Jax ran towards Mike, while firing at both androids. Soon, he was surrounded by both androids. Suddenly one of them was mysteriously collapsed in a flurry of sparks, being pierced by a piece of pipe. Taking advantage of the bewilderment, the mysterious girl took the fallen droid's weapon and opened fire on the other's head, knocking it down instantly.

Jax lowered his gun and raised his hands. The girl scanned the entire area and detected Lucy

— Don’t! — Jax yelled. But it was interrupted again by the automatic defense system.

—Warning! Self-destruct system activated.

— There's no time to lose — replied Jax, carrying up Mike

— Lucy! Lead the way to the Bumblebee.

— Right away!

— If you want to survive, you'd better come with us

The girl thought for a moment and then went around Jax and helped carrying Mike. They flee quickly to the Bumblebee.

The Traxian destroyers appeared from hyperspace one after the other and immediately opened fire on the Black Hornet.

Dana took evasive maneuvers, however the ship received strong impacts when trying to cover the bumblebee from destroyers' fire.

— Anytime guys! — Dana said as she opened fire on the Traxian destroyers.

Jax quickly coupled the Bumblebee in the Black Hornet

— Get us as far as possible, Dana

— Sound good to me — she replied

—N8T, I need assistance in the Bumblebee

— Right away, sir!

The Hornet entered the hyperspace at light speed, escaping from the place. The destroyers intended to follow them but were damaged by the impacts of the space freighter's explosion.

The traxian girl pointed her gun at N8T, when it entered into the Bumblebee

— Oh heavens! — said N8T

— Relax girl. He is N8T, a medical droid.

— I also play the role of chef on the spaceship — added N8T

— Terrible chef — Jax added with a wink

N8T approached and extended its hand in order to greet the girl

The girl was reluctant towards this new character.

— N8T, stop formalities and attend to Mike — ordered Jax

— Immediately sir

— Come with me girl, let's go to the bridge.

The girl accompanied Jax. On the way, Riggs appeared upset

— What the hell have you gotten us into! Imperial destroyers !?

But he was interrupted by being pointed by the girl’s gun directly to his neck

Riggs went white and immediately raised his hands.

— I see that your ability to make friends is innate Riggs

— Relax, it's our mechanic, he can fix any device in seconds — added Jax

Riggs smiled anguished, while beads of sweat rolled from his forehead.

The girl removed the weapon from Riggs's neck and continued behind Jax.

— My name is Riggs, by the way — he said in a low voice, nervously, while waving his at her, absorbed by the new guest.

The girl glanced furtively at Riggs, before losing sight of him. Riggs still had his foolish impression on his face.

Upon entering the bridge, Dana fired a stun beam at the Traxian girl, knocking her down. However, she tried to stand up and Dana fired again 3 times until she was unconscious.

—The girl is tough; I'll take her to the brig.

— Be gentle, remember that she saved me and mike’s lives — Jax exclaimed

*** *** ***

Jax had met Dana and N8T in the mess hall. Lucy was purring on Dana's legs.

— What's Mike's status? — Jax asked N8T

— He is recovering; fortunately his armor protected him from a bigger wound — answered N8T, while was serving dinner.

— What are we gonna do with the girl? — Dana asked

— We’ll continue as planned, we'll deliver the "gem" to Terrigent as we agreed.

— Very good — Dana said bitterly.

— Don’t be discouraged. As you know, what we will gain in the exchange with, we will never put our lives in danger ever again.

— Nate, what did you find out about our guest? — Jax asked.

— In addition to her skill for the offensive, the analysis of her DNA revealed a high resistance to diseases and extreme climates. Due by genetic manipulation, her ability to regenerate tissues has been improved to 1000%, which makes her a perfect fighting machine.

— I can see now Terrigent’s interest — answered Jax

— N8T, make sure our guest remains unconscious until we arrive

— Affirmative, sir

*** *** ***

N8T verified girl’s conditions on the vital signs monitor. N8T surcharge the intramuscular device with a new load of sedatives and when it was about to apply it, the girl stopped its hand and gave it a kick that threw it in the distance.

The girl released her bonds and prepared to escape, but N8T activated a force field to keep her captive inside the sick bay.

The girl began to hit the force field with her fists, which began to smell scorched with every blow she gave.

— It's useless, girl. You can never cross that field — said Mike, who was lying on a bed, still recovering from his injuries.

But the girl paid no attention and continued to hit the force field. Suddenly, one of her hands managed to open a small hole in the field. She began to exert force and managed to put both hands through the hole. She gave an intense scream, increasing her strength; the muscles of her arms were marked more and more. In a last effort she managed to open the hole enough to get her body out of the sick bay.

The girl watched as her burned hands began to regenerate. She started running through the corridors of the spaceship and entered Riggs' room.

Riggs sipped a cup of hot chocolate at that moment. They both stared at each other. He was wearing baby pink long johns

— It's an interesting outfit — it was the first time he heard her voice.

— It's my pajama. I just got up — Riggs answered

— Surely you've never tasted hot chocolate — Riggs asked her

Riggs offered her his cup with hot chocolate.

— Be careful, It’s hot!

The girl took it cautiously, then smelled it and tasted it. She closed her eyes when she felt a series of flavors never proven.

— You like it, isn’t it? It's the more delicious thing I've ever tasted in the universe — Riggs said proudly.

Riggs smiled and she approached him intrigued in the expression of his mouth, which she touched with her fingers. Riggs confused with what she was doing, he could not erase his smile from his face.

— Hey! — Riggs exclaimed — your hands are burned, let me patch them up.

He took an ointment from one of the compartments he had in his room with two handkerchiefs. The girl gently let Riggs take care of her injuries.

— You'll see how in a couple of days you'll be like new — Riggs answered smiling again.

— You're Gem, aren’t you? — Riggs asked again

She watched him confused.

— I guess it's your name, because that's what my partners called you.

— I have no designation assigned — she replied

— Then I'll call you Gem.

N8T activated the alarm, alerting the rest of the crew.

— I guess that sound is about you, isn’t it? — Riggs asked

— Do not worry I'm sure we can clarify things.

That's when Jax came in and took the girl by surprise, injecting her a sedative doses.

— Sorry girl, but I can’t allow dangers running through my ship.

Riggs protested about what Jax had just done.

— Riggs! How many times have I told you that you should not play with the merchandise? —Jax exclaimed

— I do not agree with you, she saved your life and Mike’s

Jax took the girl in her arms and left the room.

Riggs was thoughtful and worried about Gem's well-being.

— When you receive your share of the booty, you will forget that girl — Lucy commented from the entrance of Riggs' room and also left.

*** *** ***

Source

The meeting with Terrigan was on a desert planet, in order to avoid ambushes.

The Bumblebee had landed 2 miles away from the meeting point. Dana and Lucy were in the Black Hornet, orbiting the planet, monitoring the entire area. Not far from there, was Terrigan's destroyer, monitoring the exchange at the same time.

Jax and Mike headed to the meeting point driving an all-terrain vehicle, carrying the ‘gem’.

Upon reaching the rendezvous point, Terrigan's guards surrounded the vehicle. Mike took his gun, but Jax told him to stay calm. Jax got off the vehicle with his hands up. And he was led by the guards to Terrigan's hologram.

— I see that you have increased your security.

— You can bet on that — Terrigan answered.

— Now, show me the gem, it's as great as they say?

— Come and see for yourself— answered Jax.

Jax motioned to Mike and he opened the tailgate of the vehicle for the guards to remove the hibernation capsule where the girl was.

The guards mounted the capsule on a mobile aerial platform and moved it to where Jax and Terrigan were.

— Okay, I see that you have it in hibernation mode. You're being very clever.

— I don’t want to be rude in negotiations, but you have already seen the merchandise, so without saying anything else I hope you deliver the promised payment.

Another pair of guardians, brought another mobile platform with the cargo of bitcoins, the most expensive currency in the universe.

Jax verified the content and when he was satisfied he said farewell to the hologram.

— As usual, it's a pleasure to do business with you, Terrigan.

Jax loaded the vehicle with the precious cargo and then they went to the Bumblebee. Jax felt bad for Riggs' feelings, but he would be sure that Riggs would change his mind when he saw his share of the cargo of bitcoins.

However, he could see in the rearview mirror how Terrigan's ship was falling down with its engines damage. He stopped at once.

— What's going on? — Mike asked

— Something is going on with Terrigan's ship

Jax got out of the vehicle and used a binoculars to see what was going on.

— Damn it! Riggs — Jax yelled.

— Jax, the destroyer of the Terrigan has charged its weapons — informed Dana

Riggs had detonated a section of Terrigan's ship, escaping in a vehicle along with Gem.

Jax climbed into his vehicle and headed for the Bumblebee.

— I must give credit to Riggs' courage — said Jax

The Hornet interposed itself in the line of fire of the Destroyer of Terrigan.

— This is the Black Hornet, lay down your weapons.

Meanwhile on the planet, Riggs and Gem were being chased by Terrigan's guards.

— Do you have any plans? — Gem shouted at Riggs

— Continue as far as the road leads, while we are together

Gem smiled at Riggs for the first time. She felt for the first time something more than the need to survive, the need to protect this individual in whom she felt attracted.

She took the vehicle gun and started firing at the guards who followed them.

Meanwhile, inside Bumblebee, Jax received a call from the Destroyer

— Keep your Black Hornet away and leave that couple of rebels in my hands. You are free to leave the planet unharmed, you have my word — Terrigan exclaimed.

— You have 30 seconds to decide

Mike looked at Jax.

— I'll follow any order you tell me — said Mike

— To hell with that! Better be Riggs divide his share of bitcoins with the girl — Jax exclaimed.

The Bumblebee took off violently towards where Riggs and Gem were.

— Dana! — Jax shouted

— Copy that! — Dana replied — Hold on Lucy

The Black Hornet attacked the Destroyer firing with everything they had.

Riggs and Gem were surrounded by the other vehicles, when suddenly they heard the detonations of the Bumblebee's weapons. Busting everyone who chased them.

— Attention to the couple in love! Do you need a lift? — Jax cried on the car radio.

Riggs stopped the vehicle and waited for the Bumblebee to open its gate to board it with Gem.

— They're already on board. Let's go off this hot planet right away— Mike commented

On the outskirts of the planet, the Black Hornet disabled the engines of Terrigan's destroyer.

— You finished playing with the Destroyer, dear Dana? — Jax exclaimed through the communicator

— Like taking a candy from a child! — Dana mentioned.

The Bumblebee was docked to the Hornet.

When they were ready to enter hyperspace, they were surrounded by 3 Imperial Taxarian Destroyers.

— You did not think you were going to escape with the cargo of bitcoins so easily, did you? — exclaimed, by a communication channel, Terrigan

— I wasn’t thinking of doing it — Jax answered.

— Expel the capsule, Dana — ordered Jax. Mike whimpered.

— Calm down Mike, it's just money, family is the essential.

The capsule went fired far away

— You see the capsule? Do you recognize the pattern it emits? Terrigan?

— Capture the capsule at once! — Terrigan shouted

The destroyers changed their course and began the pursuit of the capsule

In a whisper, Jax said

— Fire

The Hornet fired its weapons and with a single shot, it turned the capsule into powder along with its precious cargo.

— NOOOO! — Terrigan shouted

— As usual, It’spleasure doing business with you, Terrigan — it was the last thing he heard from Jax before they entered hyperspace.

*** *** ***

Days after what happened and thousands of light years far away from the place. Dana talked pleasantly with Jax

— When you’re gonna tell the guys that you saved 10% of those bitcoins

Jax smiled, and said

— Soon…

If you want to participate in this contest go to:

https://steemit.com/electricdreams/@tygertyger/tyger-s-electric-dreams-short-story-contest-4-winners-of-3-and-a-new-prompt

And again! Thanks for reading!