Mouretsu Pirates

by KD7BWB

Starting with Chapter 27, a new set of Episodes unfolds in the grand manner. Includes many original characters, as well as new ones to wet the appetite. This adventure should please average adult readers.

Mouretsu Pirates

Chapter 27

"Failure Never Goes Unrewarded"

PROLOG

The Battle of the Sargasso Corridor. A clash of epic proportions, of Man versus Machine. But even the machines involved were created by the genius of Man, gone awry.

Marika Kato, the Hero of this action, now returns home. To face friends, and Final Exams.

The defeated Quartz Christie, also returns home. Will she find comfort in the refinements of Galactic Center, or will the data she brings back; doom her to destruction.

We shall find out in Chapter 27, "Failure Never Goes Unrewarded", in the continuing saga of "Mouretsu Pirates".

"This is Captain Quartz Christie, reporting to Galactic Empire Command, according to Orders."; Quartz spoke to the Air Traffic Control, at Galactic Center.

"This is Air Traffic Control, we have your Transponder code, and logged flight plan; please stand by for orders, Captain."; ATC replied.

Quartz Christie was very annoyed, aggravated and exhausted. She had been cooped up in her Silent Whisper spacecraft for more than 5 weeks at its' maximum warp of Warp-6. And she had run out of water over a week ago. For the first time in her life, her uniform was actually sticking to her skin. She needed more water, and she needed a bath and a clean uniform. Galling!

Even more aggravating, Quartz Christie had no idea how her defeat at 'The Sargasso Corridor' would be received by Galactic High Command, or Galactic Research. And always, there was him! The King of the Empire, and the only person with enough clout to authorize the expenditures for the Grand Cross, not to mention her own creation by Galactic Research, beginning 11 years previous.

There was the terse radio communications at intervals, during the flight back home. She did not like the tone of it. It smacked of more attention than she felt she was worth. She was merely a Captain returning home.

Finally, her radio crackled to life; "Sorry to keep you waiting, Captain Christie. You are to proceed to Galactic Research landing port, on the ground; directly. There you will be met by a contingent of security officers. They will give you further instructions. You have immediate clearance to proceed."

She responded without emotion; "Thank you ATC, I will proceed without delay. Clear!"

With that, she set the course-line and flight-plan computers to make a descent into the atmosphere, and was privately satisfied that she would touch down at dusk, at the Galactic Research airfield. It would make a splendid display, as her ship landed like a leaf in the breeze, with a howling torch of an engine; moaning to a stop.

She did exactly that, the ship landing in exactly the right spot. When the engine had been terminated, she opened the cockpit and climbed down to the ground, to see the propulsion unit still glowing white-hot from 5-weeks of operation. Silent Whisper was never designed to run continuously for that long, at high warp; so the overheated condition was a testament to the designers of such a vehicle. It had served her well.

Quartz waited, and watched while a field service vehicle drove to her position, and a driver came up to her. Many men came out of the rear section of the vehicle and surrounded her.

Quartz responded in kind, to his salute; whereupon he exclaimed; "Please come with us, Captain Christie. Galactic Research Android Design Bureau is very intent to download your memory data."

"Very well, do you have some water? I'm a bit parched."; she replied.

The officer directed her to the rear of the vehicle; "They have told me of your expected condition, and will have water waiting for you there."

"Why am I being treated this way?"; Quartz thought to herself. Finding herself walking down a long hallway she knew with great familiarity, and escorted by a cadre that seemed a lot like a firing squad; it was difficult for her to fathom what was actually happening. It was as if the world had changed 180-degrees while she was in Hyperspace.

Finally Quartz arrived at a familiar door, and the leader of her guard party opened the door, allowing her to pass inside, and followed her in. Julia was there, thank God!

Julia, looking up from her desk and said, agreeably enough; "… Wonderful, Quartz you're finally here!" Looking over to the escort officer, she gave dismissal; "Captain, you are relieved. Tell your commander thanks, and I'm sorry for your trouble to bring Quartz Christie to our office."

"Our orders came from the very top. Thank you ma'am, can I be of any further assistance?"; he asked.

Julia replied hastily, while directing the soldier out the office door; "Think nothing of it, I'm going to be fine; Goodbye." Julia continued; "Quartz, please come this way. We need to download your memory data as soon as possible. We need to know what happened. But first, when we go into the devlab, you'll need to undress, take a shower and put a clean uniform on. You've gotta be dying to clean up; then we'll get you some water, I'm told you're somewhat dehydrated!"

Julia led Quartz into another entry, which opened into a large room. DevLab was a hodgepodge of equipment, frames to hold android bodies, electronics stations, and programmers' workstations. Next to those, were some narrow stretcher-beds, to carry androids, in varying levels of assembly; while others were empty, waiting for new bodies.

Julia said invitingly; "Quartz, you know where you are, so just go through the door over there, and get cleaned up. You'll find your new uniform on the bench waiting for you. Then we'll talk a little, and maybe I can fill you in some more."

Quartz was still getting that "I'm being misdirected …"; feeling, but Julia at least was a rational voice that Quartz had come to trust over several years.

"You're right Julia, so I'll hold my questions till after I've gotten cleaned up. Five weeks in Hyperspace is just too boring, and not too much fun!"; Quartz said.

Quartz pushed through a set of double-doors, into a medium size shower room. There she found her new uniform, folded neatly, and placed on a bench next to a set of towels and a waiting shower stall.

Finding everything in order, she began to slide the zippers and snaps that loosened and opened parts of her old uniform. Normally easy to get out of, she was shocked to find how filthy she really was. Parts of her torso, and legs; were basically stuck to the inside fabric. And her arms were almost entirely glued to the sleeves.

Applying some effort, she finally came out of her old uniform, and realized to herself; she must have sweated almost 8-ounces of water out of herself. She had been told that she used very little of anything that had to be re-supplied, but water was the one thing she used and lost a little of. Everything else was basically closed-system. But now she was certain that there was enough loss to account for dirty cloths. She thought; "I must stink to high heaven…"

Finally completely unclothed, she walked over to the shower, noticed bath-soap and shampoo on a shelf at easy reach, and told the shower to turn on, and at what temperature.

Every room of this facility was mobbed with cameras, and she knew she was being watched. But she was not one to be troubled by modesty. She had been examined, poked, prodded, and searched in every cavity in her body; brain checked out, musculature examined and tested. For years.

Quartz chuckled to herself, as to the incongruity of being stared at by total strangers while she took a shower; and the clear point in her mind that laughed, because she just didn't care.

The lovely feel of the warm water on her skin pushed her mind to wander. She often noticed people, when she walked the streets of the City while performing errands; and noticed people looking at her with unusual expressions. Men often smiled at the sight of her; while most women gasped.

She knew that she had been designed to appear to be female perfect, in form and performance. No spare weight on her, not a line out of place. Even her hair hung properly over her ears and past her neck. She barely even combed it, it just did that, because it was made that way. She appeared to have makeup, but she wore none, so perfect was the designers' hand, people just knew they were looking at a woman people would fight over. But no one ever did.

Very few Humans even noticed that she was an Android, even in conversations, although other Androids always knew. She always felt moments of pride when she could be taken as Human. The deception was that perfect. Someday, she thought, when her service to the Empire was at an end; she thought it would be nice to go to the Courts, and ask to be made a Free Sentient Being. It had been done before, by other Androids. Why not her?

Looking down at the floor of her shower, she was shocked out of her daydream. The water, flowing down her body and into the drain, was soapy and gray; so much junk had attached itself to her skin. Quartz was feeling much better. The shower had done her a world of good, and her spirits had picked up noticeably.

Telling the shower stall to shut off, she got out and dried off. Grabbing the pieces of her uniform, she started getting into it. She always marveled at the Human capacity to make clothes fit over the irregularities of the Human form. Everything went together perfectly, and she was again clean, clothed; and feeling refreshed.

Stepping out of the shower room, Quartz found Julia with a big smile on her face; and a 12-ounce plastic bottle of water in her hand. Quartz, taking the proffered water, nodded thanks; pulled the cap-valve open and immediately upended it into her mouth, gulping it down like a woman from a desert. She didn't stop until almost half the bottle was empty.

Then she began walking into DevLab with Julia, and while she was walking, she pointed at the pull-cap on the bottle; "Twenty-Five Hundred Years, and we still haven't got a better bottle cap!"

Julia smiled, then it hit her funny and she started to laugh out loud. It was the funniest thing she'd heard in weeks. She thought to herself; "…out of the mouths of Androids …"

Walking with Quartz Christie, Julia pointed to one of the work-stations; "Ok Quartz, please lay down here. We need to put you in 'low-level' state, so that we can record your data, and place a 'forensic stamp' on it."

"You know how I hate this, Julia. It always makes me feel like I'm gonna die. I just hate it, and if it wasn't you doing it, I'd pass …"; She said, the expressions passing across her face were obviously heartfelt.

Julia felt for her, knowing that it was probably the only thing in this Universe Quartz Christie was afraid of; "I haven't found a single Android that likes being low-leveled, but even you know it's necessary. Now lie down please, this is important, the entire Command Staff and the King wants to see the results from your memories!"

"But I don't know what the fuss is about. And I have this sinking feeling that I've done something wrong, without knowing what that wrong thing is."; Quartz was beginning to get whinny.

So Julia decided to level with her a little, to at least give Quartz some idea of the seriousness of the situation;

"All right Quartz, I'll tell you! The news of the destruction of the Grand Cross went through the Galactic Research Astronautics Department like wildfire! Four of our best engineers, who worked on the thing for almost 10-years, committed suicide. The entire project has been put on hold, pending the findings of what went wrong, and of course what parts went right.

Your existence is hanging in the balance! You know I'm in your corner, and I'm very happy to see you home safe; but the information sitting in your head is the most important information in the Galaxy right now. We need to get it all out, and see what's in there, and if something went wrong, figure out what it is. Three department heads wanted you scrapped for parts, two weeks ago. The only person that could stop them was the King himself! He wants to know the facts before drastic measures are decided upon! And that information has to have forensic seals on everything, to insure the results are based on untampered data."

The expressions on Quartz' face was sackcloth and ashes. She couldn't believe so much trouble was her fault; "But I did what I was instructed. I found good Pirates, I engaged them in battle and tested them."

Julia was heart-broken. She had a good idea what Quartz was thinking, and it wasn't a lot of fun; "I believe you, but I'm not the last word around here and you know it. Now please turn you head, so I can put you into low-level state; and then I can get to work with my colleagues, and save your life. You have my word, we're going to do our best for you."

Quartz Christie was stymied, she had nothing else to delay the inevitable. So she turned her head to the right, and allowed Julia to do this wicked thing. Julia reached behind Quartz' left ear, found the depression, and pressed the button with great care.

A long press (for more than ten seconds) was a shutdown, and in Quartz Christie's terms, meant instant and unredeemable death. Most older Androids could be shutdown without damage, but Quartz Christie was a new approach; a total prototype, and her true biological brain could not sustain a shutdown. But a short press (longer than one second, and shorter than two seconds) would put Quartz in a maintenance mode "low-level", like putting a laptop to sleep.

Quartz felt nothing, and her nervous system went dead. Then all her sensory nerves stopped feeding. Now she could perceive nothing, and she was alone, and in total blackness. No sound, not even her skin could be detected. Quartz Christie's mind screamed! And then even her mind stood in place, and it was all over. She reached low-level state.

Julia went to a technician: "Quartz Christie is to be stored in the warm Nitrogen Gas room, for now. My team will get to work first thing in the morning. She is not to be touched without my say-so. Nobody else is to touch her! Understand?"

Robert heard her words, and didn't believe it. She never talked like that. Boy was she mad! ; "Yes ma'am, I'll place a note to that effect on her chart."

Robert wheeled the stretcher bed out to the hallway and moved it into a doorway, with an electric seal-door. It opened, and he pushed it inside.

Julia had been invited to the final meetings, at His Majesty's Palace; and she had many misgivings. But nobody refused appearance before the King, even if it included your own hanging!

Nervous, did not quite describe her state of mind, as she walked with Robert, into the Palace, with her written invitation. The Chamberlain was there to greet them both, took her invite, glanced at it; recognizing her immediately, he nodded; "Thank you for coming Miss Carden. I'm confident that His Majesty will find your information most useful as a guide to his decisions in the future."

"Am I too late for the briefing?"; she asked.

Chamberlain was helpful: "No, since you're needed most, at the end. However, the briefing on other related matters has been going on for more than an hour. I'm sure you'll be interested in the findings. Please, follow me."

She and Robert followed the Chamberlain down a long hall, ending near a wide double side-door. Opening the door, and bowing, he allowed the two to enter. Seeing the two new guests arrive, Rodney got up from his seat at the head of the table (which intruded on the presentation); "Wonderful, we're now all here! Thank you so much for coming, Miss Carden. I'm as eager to hear what you will present as I am any of the briefings from the other gentlemen here."

"Please call me Julia, your Majesty, everyone does."; she replied.

Taking her by the hand, The King of the Empire, led her to a place at the table which afforded a good view of the proceedings. This was the first time she got to actually speak to the King, although she had been introduced a few times in the past. This caring behavior was a side of him she had not seen before. Could he really be the one that was standing in the way of Quartz Christies' destruction? She fervently hoped so!

Helping her to sit down, with sincere politeness, The King then went back to his own seat; and then signaled to the presenter to continue.

John Marvik was put off his feed, with the arrival of the Chief of the Android Bureau. He knew she was not needed immediately, but the King had shown a strong interest in what she might have to present.

In his own mind, he found this contentious; as he was clearly in the camp that wanted the Android in question, to be destroyed!

Mr. Marvik began again, in ernest; "… uh, your Majesty, if you will follow the discussion on the monitor; you will be presented with a simulation of the data. This will present a clear summary of the data gleaned; of the events that transpired, the conversations Captain Christie had at Hideout, the preparations for battle made by her chosen enemies; and a complete playback of the Battle at the Sargasso Corridor."

"Wonderful, John. This is the part I've been dying to get my hands on. Please proceed!"; the King replied.

Satisfied with that approval, Mr. Marvik continued; "The following tracks are actual point of view conversations with members of the pirates in the sector, and a outright verbal debate; while all parties looked on. Please note the atmosphere of the Pirate Council Hall, and the intrusion by a young pirate captain."

The viewer provided the audio and video; from Quartz' point of view. The meeting on the escalator. The planned intrusion of Quartz Christie, into the Pirate Council Meeting, and her challenge to all. The response by Marika Kato, the shift of attitude by the assembled Captains. And finally the arrival of Captain Ironbeard, and his demand upon Quartz Christie to withdraw, in order to speak to the Queen.

"This is very weird. The Empire does not as yet, have a personage who is a Queen."; Rodney, the King inquired.

Mr. Marvik tried to explain; "We found this strange also. After analyzing the information, and backtracking Ironbeard's travels; we finally created the assumption that the Queen in question was an acquaintance of the both of them. One Guier Serenity.

Guier and Grunhilde Serenity serve as Royal Princesses of the entire Serenity System of seven planets. And Guier, being the eldest; is often referred to as the Queen; a position she will legitimately hold, when she reaches adulthood. We believe it is she, that was being referred to. Both Ironbeard and Quartz Christie, especially Ironbeard; has had dealings with this person, and in Ironbeards' case, he has accepted several contracts from her, to perform tasks as a Pirate Service. Grier Serenity is known to pay well, for such services."

A look of confusion on his face, The King observed; "Yes but the footage of that meeting is absent."

"Quite true, your Majesty. After going over this many times, we believe the suggested meeting never took place. Ironbeard was only responding to Princess Serenity's request, to extract Quartz Christie safely. As you saw, great anger and belligerence was present at that Council, towards Quartz Christie. She might have been killed. After all, there was an altercation upon exit from the Hall. You saw that. We feel that Ironbeard probably saved Captain Christie's life."; Mr. Marvik responded.

Julia watched the video, as it repeated at low volume, over and over. She could not believe what she was seeing. She was shocked, things like this just didn't happen in the Empire. Did it?

The video looked more like the output of a movie studio, for the popular theatre crowd. Even the other people in it seemed almost like from another world. But the most impressive person, was a young lady named Marika Kato, pointed to and accepted as the Captain of the Bentenmaru.

Her words, not only dropped the gauntlet upon Captain Christies' challenge, but served to galvanize and unite the other Captains. At first glance, she seemed an ordinary and almost ditzy teen. But look at the poise, and outright courage! That doesn't happen to a teen of that age, without battlefield experience, and Julia was stunned by it all.

The King finally broke the tension; "OK John, what's next?"

"From here, we will examine one Marika Kato. Mind you, this data is from general research, and nothing to do with the previous transcript. I'm sure she has your interest already; and she definitely became a person of interest, for everybody. From Galactic High-Command, to Internal Security, and ultimately; Galactic Research ourselves. I invite Jason Carville, head of Internal Security, to continue in this direction."; Mr. Marvik invited.

A gaunt, slender, suspicious man stood up. After placing a data chip in the terminal he began his presentation; "Your Majesty, Marika Kato is an enigma. Until 16 months ago; she was literally a nobody. A student at Hokuoh Academy on the planet Sea of the Morningstar, and member of the Yacht Club. She rides a bicycle everywhere. I say again, she does not own a vehicle, she continues to ride a bicycle. She is an excellent student, but by hard work, not because it was ever easy for her. Lately, she has been extremely busy.

Her available time is divided between her school work, very recently completing her final exams for her second high school year; her continuing employment at a small cafe called the "Lamp House"; and her continuing duties as the now fully accepted Captain of the Pirate Cruiser Bentenmaru.

And achieving all of this before her 17th birthday. I wish my own daughter had this kind of gumption and stamina. When I saw the data, I thought somebody was making it up!"

"Such a normal girl, and yet so much power and acumen for a girl of such youth!"; remarked the King.

Taking the comment gracefully, Mr. Carville continued; "I'm glad your Majesty is taking this information in that fashion. It gets better and better. I direct your attention to the monitor again. Here I will present her biological background. Her parents.

Gonzaemon Kato, until 16-months ago, then the Captain of the Bentenmaru for more than 18 years. Born in space, he accepted command after serving aboard that ship, from his Father, the then Captain. His family line goes all the way, in an almost unbroken line; back almost 85 generations, to the beginning of Spacers. Died by accident, of food poisoning.

Rurika, Marika's mother. No last name we can discover; another complete enigma. Also born on a space freighter. Her genetic code shows an unbroken Spacer line, 87 generations long. Worked herself into full Spacers' Papers. Can do almost any job on a starship; and excels in munitions, firearms and battle strategy. She is known in the trade as 'Blaster Rurika'. The story goes, you mess with her, you're a dead man. She married Gonzaemon Kato, while working on the Bentenmaru. By all accounts, they were very much in love, if there ever was such a thing."

"My God, true romance!"; interjected Rodney, the King.

Jason Carville continued; "At first, nothing less. Then, upon discovery of her pregnancy; Rurika chose a planet, Sea of the Morningstar; left the Bentenmaru permanently, and proceeded to set up housekeeping in New Okuhama City. She quickly hired on with the Morningstar Defense Command as an Air Traffic Controller; and built a house.

And not just any house. These pictures of her residence will make things clearer. The walls are re-enforced concrete, two feet thick. The front door is a high-tensile blast door, requiring 5 methods of encryption, including biometrics, to open it. The door alone requires a class four, 10-megawatt blast cannon to peel it open.

The windows are really interesting. These are military grade one-way glass, over an inch thick; and they are bullet proof. This is not the type of one-way glass that you can see through to the lighter side. These are modern difractional one-way glass. Each one had to cost over one-hundred thousand credits each."

The entire assembled group of experts began to shake their heads in disbelief. Many making comments to themselves, under their breath. Julia and Robert, just sat mesmerized by the house photos. This story was unbelievable.

Rodney, the King, interjected: "You're saying Rurika Kato was behaving like a mother on a pirate ship, and attempting to protect her child from skullduggery!"

"I hadn't thought of it like that, but his Majesty has made a very astute conjecture. It certainly fits the evidence.

Nobody can make up there minds as to whether Rurika had it in mind consciously to do all this stuff, or she was functioning on some kind of instinct. What is clear, is that she built a house to protect herself and daughter from nothing less than military class weapons, and its attendant potential for home invasion.

We continue. 4-months after Marika Kato accepts a position and begins training as Captain of the Bentenmaru, Rurika Kato disappears. Later, it is discovered that she has hired on as the Fire-Controller of the Parabellum Pirate Battleship, commanded by none other than Ironbeard. The nastiest Pirate Captain in the Galaxy, and presently a Gold Skull Pirate, of your own making, your Majesty."; Jason Carville bows to his King, and ceases his presentation.

Mr. Marvik, re-acquiring the presenter role; "There is more to present, but in the interests of brevity; I will make a conclusion about this information …"

"If I may be so bold, it appears that Gonzaemon and Rurika Kato bred a Spacer, and intended to train her to be a Pirate Captain. After a collective 170 plus generations, a near-perfect Captain has emerged!"; the King blurted out excitedly.

"Quite true, and in battle, a very nasty piece of work; as Captain Christie discovered!"; Mr. Marvik concluded.

Rodney, finally having heard enough; "I think this is enough for the morning. Let's break for lunch. If you all don't mind I'll have it brought in. Relax, have lunch, and enjoy this meeting."; and then leaning over to Julia; "I've selected the lunch items personally. I hope you and Robert enjoy it. "

Julia taken unaware; "Thank you so much, I wasn't sure what to expect. I've never been to one of these Imperial Briefings."

The King smiled, an honest smile; and waved to the Chamberlain to serve lunch.

With lunch completed companionably, Mr. Marvik re-acquired the presenter role; "… with his Majesty's indulgence, we will get back to the briefings at hand."

His Majesty, the King, nodded with a friendly smile.

"Your Majesty, the next presentation will be a little dull, and boring, as it includes many financial matters. But it continues to focus on Marika Kato. The senior Accountant at Internal Security, Bill Pesto."; Mr. Marvik said.

Mr. Pesto stood up, went to the data terminal, and returned the chip in it to Jason Carville. Mr. Carville thanked him. Then Mr. Pesto inserted his own chip, and began anew; "Your Majesty, ladies and gentlemen; I present to you Marika Kato. The greatest secret in the Empire. To add to the data presented by Mr. Carville; the following information is before you.

Rurika Kato worked as a Air Traffic Controller for the Sea of the Morningstar Defense Force, and earned a respectable salary of forty-thousand credits per annum; and for more than fifteen years. But before that, she built a house and spent more than five-million credits on it. While this sort of money is not unknown for pirates of Rurika Kato's quality, they rarely spend that kind of money on a house.

In any case, the trail grows cold, as it often does when dealing with pirates; as we cannot deduce her total wealth with any accuracy. From here we enter the nether-realm, we like to call 'Insurance Company Hell'. These companies are unbreakable, and they routinely bank pirate funds; Able-Bodied Spacers, and Captains and Ships alike.

Here is where Marika Kato enters the picture. She was not spoiled by her mother. Rurika bought things Marika needed, sometimes even wanted, but never gave her money outright. Marika never had a lot of money, and only got ahold of meaningful cash by working for it. That brings into focus, her job at the 'Lamp House'. Marika averaged about two-hundred and fifty credits per month, and with fourteen months to the year, that totals roughly thirty-five hundred credits per annum. Most of that is banked on the ground, in her personal bank account, and is presently about sixteen thousand plus credits."

"That seems so normal, and her mother very wise."; Rodney, the King surmised.

Mr. Pesto continued; "Quite right, your Majesty. But now we start dealing with her pirate income. So far, she has three major sources of income. Keep in mind, I'm keeping Miss Kato's expenses, dealing with the Sargasso Corridor out of these figures; for the moment.

First, she does regular jobs as a Pirate Captain, which earns her many millions of credits. She is presently positive cash-flow, in this area. And our estimates make her normal jobs income somewhere around two-hundred and fifty million credits, of which more than forty-five million went to payrolls and Spacer's Share. The rest she banks, and then spends on things like supplies and ship maintenance. I don't know who is doing her books, but that individual is doing an excellent job of maintaining solvency.

Secondly, she has received a one-time payment of two-hundred billion credits, from the Serenity Government, as payment and reward for extraordinary services to the Kingdom and Crown of the Serenity Planetary System. This was for the tasks revolving around a Contract accepted from Gruier Serenity, by Marika Kato; in reference to finding and returning the Heritage Vessel, 'Queen Serendipity' to its' people and government. Marika Kato was even awarded a Medal, and made a 'Knight of the Realm'.

And third, a continuing Contract, made between Marika Kato and Jennifer Doolittle, of Hugh and Doolittle Shipping Company. This was a simple security and defense Contract, to defend and make safe, Jennifer Doolittle against intended attacks from her uncle, Robert Doolittle. Initial down payment was in the form of a freshly received, and completely operational Silent Whisper; worth roughly five-billion credits; plus annual payment, payed by the quarter, of ten-percent of the gross for the following ten years; of a travel-agency company owned by Jennifer Doolittle, called 'Fairy Jane Travel'. At the time of the agreement, Fairy Jane Travel was rated as the number three, and fastest growing travel agency in the Galaxy. It is presently number two, and will take number one slot, in a matter of another year or less, and is presently grossing more than fifty-trillion credits per annum.

Now to put this kind of income in perspective. While we have great difficulty finding money that is inside 'Insurance Company Hell', we have only some difficulty finding money that enters the insurance company. What is done with it after that, is a big dark place.

My accountancy department at Internal Security has made the following analysis. At the end of the next nine years or so, Marika Kato will have more money that all other pirates in the Galaxy combined. She is presently so wealthy, she can buy entire planets. Our information is that Marika Kato just looks at her wealth as a set of numbers, and has little idea of its effect in military or political terms."

"So what does this mean in military terms, I mean as Marika Kato sees it?"; his Majesty asked.

Mr. Pesto continued; "Firstly, I and my staff, are not sociologists. We have no idea how Marika Kato thinks, except as a deduction based on past performance. As you can see by the spreadsheets I've put up on the screens; we can deduce only some of this girls' reasoning.

She is a seventeen year old girl, still in high-school. She shows some interest in finishing at least this form of education. Her friends say she wants to go to Space Academy some day. At her present financial position, she can educate herself by any means her heart desires.

But, when we overlay the inventory and bills of lading sheets; created at the time of her repairs and upgrades to the Bentenmaru Pirate Cruiser; upon the present income and expenditures; we get a very interesting set of facts.

Firstly, she went to extraordinary lengths to repair and upgrade the basic structure of the Bentenmaru. The armor-plating, while the right size and shape; were of modern plating materials. In other words, the ship became tough as nails, and could easily be used as a ramming vehicle; while being so tough that Galactic Research has told us these plates could resist hundred-megawatt cannon fire without damage. The Bentenmaru, in spots on the hull, has the same blast-cannon resistance as a Korback Cruiser.

Next propulsion. She added two enormous propulsion units to her already respectable seven engines. This improved maneuvering performance by almost fifty percent! It can therefore, spin on a dime. This made her ship a real hotrod, and Galactic Research Astronautics Department says the Bentenmaru became the quickest Cruiser class vehicle they have ever heard of.

Now we get into some really tricky modifications. The electronics packages were upgraded in focused ways. Marika Kato was functioning entirely on a tightly formed and concise set of design parameters.

First she tore out the Bentenmaru's Mark-65 Electronic Warfare Package. She then bought a Mark-97A electronic-Warfare Computer, with a full set of Electronic Counter Measures, and Fleet Communications tie-ins. This is the biggest, fastest computer she could buy, that would fit into her electronics cabinet aboard the Bentenmaru.

Her Communications Panel was upgraded to precisely interface with this EW/ECM Computer. To comply with the hardware requirements and to beef up her transmitting and receiving capabilities; she increased her receiver antenna array by three-hundred percent, permanently doubling her sensitivity, and increasing electronic targeting accuracy by more than twenty percent.

The transmitting antenna array was ripped out entirely, and a new Talon antenna grid was mounted. She then coupled this with a Gigawatt size transmitter and you begin to see what she had planned, for the Grand Cross."

Mr. Marvik finally began to interject (beginning with an appreciative whistle); "My goodness, this girl was busy. So with all this stuff, how much did she actually spend, preparing for the battle with the Grand Cross?"

Pausing to take a drink from his beverage glass, Mr. Pesto began again; "To get to that point, we have to finish with the list of plans and hardware she purchased, in preparation for combat.

The strangest purchase was of two medium, old fashioned cruiser transports, and a third large-scale cruiser, with double-hull. None of these vessels were in very good shape, even environmental control was inoperative on two of the vessels. But the engines worked, and the warp-core was operational on all three vessels.

If we add these purchases to the entire list of purchases, in preparation for battle, we get one-point-five billion credits. That does not count the extra fees for fast service, the work had to be completed in five days. An enormous sum, to be sure, but represented less than one-half of one percent of her total wealth. In strategic terms, which finances have impact; Marika Kato was going hunting, and she was not going to miss. Everything she did revolved around breaking things.

With that, if there are no other comments; I will turn over this briefing to our tactical specialists, at Galactic Empire War College. They have analyzed the battle itself, and have shown a real eagerness to display what they consider one of the most brilliantly played space combat scenarios in the last five-hundred years."

The King just couldn't contain himself any longer; "Finally we get to the good stuff!"

Mr. Pesto removed his data chip from the console, and cleared the way for the next speaker; who nodded his thanks.

"Your Majesty, invited guests; I am Fleet Captain Bill Chambers, and I serve as a Senior Fellow at the Galactic Empire War College. Today, I am given the extreme honor of presenting (in its entirety) the Battle of the Sargasso Corridor, or as some would call it, the defeat of the Grand Cross.

Some of this information is patched together from the information your Majesty has already been given, the rest from Forensic Seal data from the Android, and Gold Skull Pirate Captain, Quartz Christie."; Captain Chambers began.

His Majesty interjected; "So this is the real deal then?"

Captain Chambers replied; "Yes your Majesty. It is exacting in every detail. And I think you'll be entertained by our simulations. I invite you all to watch your screens.

The Grand Cross was properly deployed, and Captain Christie followed her orders, directing the Grand Cross into Sector-2323. Whereupon, she again followed her orders and engaged several Pirate Vessels, in what was supposed to be testing combat. Then strangely, she deployed her Command Battleship, and proceeded to destroy seven Pirate Vessels. Mind you, these vessels had not violated any Galactic Pirate Law.

Only one attacked ship, the Big Catch (and its' small fleet of vessels) had crew that survived. The other six vessels were utterly destroyed, and two-hundred forty-seven lives were lost. The survivors of the Big Catch, having been accompanied by the Bentenmaru, for purposes unknown; were then picked up, at great risk to the ship and crew of the Bentenmaru; saving all hands. Every one of the Professors at War College believes that the Captain of the Bentenmaru did an intrepid and daring piece of soldiering.

Before the Grand Cross could engage the Bentenmaru, the Pirate Battleship Parabellum arrived to attack the Grand Cross with enormous power; and forced the Grand Cross to withdraw. The reasons for the intrusion of the Parabellum is a mystery. This stands as the first time any Pirate Vessel, from that sector; had seen the Grand Cross and lived to tell the tale."

Commenting on the presentation, Mr. Marvik said; "Doesn't this also stand as a clear violation of Captain Christies' Orders?".

Captain Chambers replied; "Yes it does. To this day, it is unclear as to why Captain Quartz diverted from her orders in this fashion. It's almost as if she was functioning on a form of 'battlefield bravado'. She was in fact quite angered by the intrusion of the Parabellum. It is in her Forensic Seal records."

"Isn't this before the Pirate Council Meeting at 'Hideout'?"; asked Rodney, the King.

Captain Chambers replied; "Quite right, your Majesty. I will not belabor that Meeting, as it has been covered in excellent detail; by previous briefings. But I do wish to mention a few salient points, that spark all kinds of questions.

Firstly, what means was employed, to discover the whereabouts of the 'Legendary Chef' and his family members, in such a manner that engendered a mutually agreed upon Pirate Council? This information is still unknown.

Second, how did the Legendary Chef know, and by what means; did he transmit the rallying message, which also contained the Map of the location of Hideout itself? This signal contained a code that was so old, dating back to the Alliance Wars; that it took Galactic Research five and a half days to decode it. Meanwhile all receiving ships responded in less than twenty-four hours; and most arrived at Hideout in less than seventy-two hours after their response. This level of coordination is nothing short of remarkable.

Third, by what means did Captain Kato escape a second attack by the Grand Cross, which should have been its' finish, but managed to not only escape, but then finally arrive alive at Hideout? Captain Christie did in fact bushwhack the Bentenmaru, in this event; and yet, only part of the reasons are in the transcript, as the Bentenmaru escaped into Hyperspace, and was then lost track of, by the Grand Cross.

And fourth, once the challenge for battle by Captain Christie, was accepted by Captain Kato; how did she know what extent and degree was at stake? How did she make plans so accurately? Either Captain Kato is clairvoyant, or she made some of the shrewdest guesses in battlefield strategic planning history. You will see the results of her plans in due course, within this briefing."

Everybody at the table was beginning to show real interest. Julia was beginning to see some astounding things, as Captain Chambers rattled off the details of Marika Kato's tasks and solutions, and his questions were almost as nagging as the potential answers.

His Majesty, the King; was excited. He knew this was going to be the best presentation he was to see in years. Captain Chambers had already posed questions and problems, that would keep Rodney busy for many days. Maybe weeks.

Even Mr. Marvik was beginning to be intrigued by this presentation. The questions alone posed all kinds of unknowns.

Captain Chambers, referring to the screens, began again; "Now we will get into more detailed analysis. So please pay close attention to your screens.

But as a side note, please be aware that 49 Sector Pirate Vessels showed up at Hideout. And 49 vessels left Hideout, in a civilized fashion; taking up formations, and entering Hyperspace en-mass. Nobody left Hideout to hide or run away. All were obviously ready for a fight. And let's not forget the three hulk cruisers, which departed with the Bentenmaru.

Upon reaching the Sargasso Corridor; 49 vessels landed in normal space, and still in formation. However, I point out, with some screen-colors, that Bentenmaru is tied by Communications Command-Links to twelve other ships. These links became powerfully important, as the battle raged. All twelve vessels were spread evenly across the entire Fleet of Pirate Vessels. The entire formation occupied more than five-hundred miles of space. Captain Kato merely had to announce their collective challenge to Captain Christie; who responded with a very badly mannered message about maybe they all should run and hide, rather than await her pleasure in destroying them all.

Captain Christie then landed in normal space with her entire Grand Cross Fleet, and began Electronic Warfare. Within seconds of seeing the EW attacks, Bentenmaru and almost immediately thereafter, its attendant twelve other vessels unloaded a blistering Electronic Warfare Barrage of its own, spreading across almost two-hundred miles. Be aware, that at this point; the Grand Cross, for the first time since it was built, made absolutely no headway in invading the data systems of the Pirate Fleet. The Grand Cross was not only stymied by effective Electronic Counter Measures, but was now just as Radar blind as the Pirate Fleet.

As a side note, it might be important to add, that any Human standing in front of the Talon antenna array, now mounted on the Bentemaru, and being driven with a Gigawatt level transmitter; would have been vaporized. Both ships were operating in deadly ernest!

Even Captain Christie commented that in Electronic Warfare, the two adversaries were matched, and caused enormous anger for Captain Christie that did not abate until the end of the Battle."

Asking a tentative question, His Majesty asked; "So this is why Captain Kato purchased all the electronic hardware?"

Captain Chambers replied; "Quite right. The Bentenmaru, and its' attendant support vessels were the electronic shield for the entire Pirate Fleet. A failure at any point in the chain was clearly a door to utter destruction.

Because Captain Christie was now Radar blind, she could no longer focus her weapons against the electronically very competent barrage support vessels or the Bentenmaru. Becoming increasingly angry, Captain Christie needed a small victory to sustain the fear level of her adversaries; and so she looked for an easy target.

This is where I need to talk about another exciting development, and a clear creation of Captain Kato herself. Covering a field of five-hundred miles; the Pirate Fleet itself became an enormous detection array, that could partially see through the Radar screen presented by the Grand Cross. We found that this data was relayed by all ships of the Pirate Fleet, to all other ships; and was effective in giving fairly accurate positional awareness to all members of the fleet. While it is true that this was not a perfect solution, it far surpassed what they would have had, if the Pirate Fleet did nothing.

This idea is being studied at length, because while not a new idea in general; Captain Katos' development as to the size of her sensory array is an expansion of an old idea called multi-point triangulation. Members of War College, and Galactic Research are both studying this idea.

Back to the battle. Captain Christie discovered, right at the edge of her ability to see; three vessels that formed a small formation. They were old, and would give little resistance. So Grand Cross Bravo was deployed to attack that formation. But, just as she opened fire, a strange thing occurred. All three of these old ships blew up in spectacular fashion."

"Wait a minute Captain, isn't it true that the bills of lading did not show purchase of any weapons grade explosives, to be employed by Captain Kato?"; inquired Mr. Pesto.

Captain Chambers replied, with a cat-bird expression on his face; "Bill, you are exactly right!"

"Well then, how did she blow these ships up simultaneously? And what happened to the crews?; Mr. Pesto inquired.

Answering Mr. Pesto with a huge grin; "There were no crews aboard these three ships. They were piloted through Hyperspace via remote-controlled FTL-links.

And there were no weapons aboard these three vessels. Remember, these ships were very old, and in strong need of meaningful maintenance. It was probably a job-an-a-half, just keeping them running without them damaging themselves. All the Bentenmaru had to do was rig these ships to do a force-chamber detonation of the primary power converters; and wham! A instantaneous multi-megaton explosion.

We calculate that all three detonations produced a simultaneous explosion of somewhere around one-hundred and seven megatons strength; and covered an area of more than twelve miles, in terms of the immediate fireball. It must of been nothing less than mind-boggling!"

Everybody in the room exploded in conversation, including Julia, who even commented some notes to the King. He responded in kind, as everyone was declaring this information virtually impossible. But there it was on the screens, the entire plan, in living color; all buttressed with the Forensically Sealed information from Quartz Christie herself.

Even Captain Chambers halted his presentation, to let this information sink in. Then he began again; "The Bentenmaru had two objectives, in detonating these ships.

First, if these ships were allowed to be destroyed, by the Grand Cross Bravo; the sensory array of the Bravo would have still been viable and intact. Captain Christie would then use the Bravo to attack other ships in the Pirate Fleet, now much closer, and more distinct in her sensors.

Second, by exploding them in such a flamboyant fashion, the size and amount of the explosion was sufficient to not only blind the sensors of the Alpha, but possibly startle Captain Christie as well. This delay was imperative for this part of the plan to unfold, as we will see.

If you will watch the screens, we will now unfold the rest of this particular attack! The explosive detonation did, in fact, blind and startle Captain Christie. Her own record shows that. Under the circumstances, no one at War College can fault the Grand Cross, the size and dynamism of this explosion would have caught virtually anyone off guard.

Captain Christie did freeze-up for almost fourteen seconds. As soon as the trio of ships detonated, at least twelve ships of the Pirate Fleet moved in for the kill, firing Mark-73 nuclear missiles, with fifty-megaton warheads. At least twenty-seven of these missiles could not be defended against, and the Bravo literally was vaporized by more than a Gigaton of explosive impacts.

Now some even more startling stuff was about to unfold. With the destruction of the Grand Cross Bravo, Captain Christie was forced to reclaim the offensive. She immediately deployed the Grand Cross Alpha to a position designed to place her sensory array closer to the enemy fleet, while placing Alpha in a defensive position between the fleet and the Grand Cross Command Vessel. Captain Christie, as a safety precaution, even employed the non-ballistic motion that Gravitonic Propulsion can provide.

That move was to be her undoing. The entire Pirate Fleet, but especially the Bentenmaru was just waiting for this move. Captain Christie does not know for a fact, but guesswork after the battle suggests that somebody aboard the Bentenmaru had been able to deduce the mathematics employed to define the Grand Cross non-ballistic course-line. They were able to predict with sufficient certainty, where the Alpha would stop motion. Before that occurred, ships of the Pirate Fleet, had unloaded metallic chaff over more than 4-miles of area; without the Grand Cross seeing it.

Positioning the Alpha for a look see, she had not deduced the chaff-cloud, and Captain Christie found herself even more blind than she was before. The Alpha was in fact between the chaff-cloud and the Grand Cross Command Vessel. Realizing her enormous tactical blunder, Captain Christie quickly and non-ballistically moved the Alpha to a new axis, at a point that would be clear of the chaff-cloud. While this afforded a clearer picture; it did not stop an enemy offensive already underway.

The Pirate Vessel Barbalusa, was already on a intersection heading and attack vector, and launched its Mark-200 guided missile. The missile was too close to be evaded, although Captain Christie tried, but too late; the five-hundred megaton warhead struck the Alpha amidships. The Alpha was splattered over more than fifty miles of space.

Simultaneous with the vicious attack launched by the Barbalusa; the Bentenmaru was already on an attack vector, and headed directly for the Grand Cross Command Vessel. When it got close enough, Captain Christie saw it coming and attempted to open fire immediately. Because the Bentenmaru had to remain in electronic warfare with the Grand Cross; Bentenmaru swiftly changed heading, to reveal behind it; the Pirate Ship Shangri-la. The Shangri-La was already equipped for ramming, and did exactly that, so quickly that the Grand Cross had no time to evade the collision.

Burying itself deep into the Grand Cross, a boarding operation was mounted. A battle ensued, upon the decks of the Grand Cross. The battle robots aboard the Grand Cross were utterly defeated. Captain Quartz Christie ended up directly confronted by a very upset and sad Captain Marika Kato, and most of her boarding party."

The King had a good question; "So with all that happening over what looked like a relatively short time; how much time elapsed for the entire main battle?"

With things winding down for questions anyway, Captain Chambers fielded the first of what he hoped were few questions; "an excellent question, your Majesty. I have described the battle, using a lot of time, to explain details; but the video sequences are actually in real-time.

If we discount our discussion, and my descriptions; the entire main battle events took less than ten-minutes. The two Captains, in conversation upon the Bridge of the Grand Cross, was actually over half-an-hour. Once Captain Christie left the Bridge, in a successful escape; she warned Captain Kato of the impending self-destruct of the Grand Cross. Everyone escaped safely; since they are still alive, and presently home safe."

Speaking slightly out of turn, Mr. Marvik enquired; "Can we see the entire battle sequence without interruptions?"

"Of course, let me punch that up for you all. Believe me, watching this simulation in continuous fashion really brings home how powerful this battle really was!"; replied Captain Chambers.

Robert Berensen, assistant to Julia Carden, enquired; "Pardon my out of turn comment. But umm …"

Captain Chambers turned Roberts way; "Yes young man. This is the time for questions."

"Well umm, how did Captain Marika Kato know she would face more than the original Grand Cross?"; Robert asked very gently.

"You've just asked one of those questions that War College is still trying to figure out. The best guess we have, is that Miss Kato is a very good judge of character. Makes sense in some ways. Since both Marika Kato and Quartz Christie are Captains, Miss Kato would intuitively understand that most aggressive Captains (including Quartz Christie) tend to do the non-intuitive thing. They tend to understate their resources.

If Captain Kato overstated Captain Christies' resources, okay; she bought too much stuff. But if she didn't, then she would be more than ready to face down Captain Christie on level ground."; Captain Chambers responding honestly.

Robert continued; "Does this mean that Captain Kato beat the Grand Cross, with all that entails; or is there more to it than that?"

Captain Chambers, delighted by the question, was getting warmed up; "Not necessarily. A good strategist understands the weaponry he faces, and also the commander he faces. Captain Marika Kato, not only understood the strengths of the weapon systems she was facing, but also the needs of battle, required to circumvent, or even turn those strengths into weaknesses.

But more importantly, this incredible battle points to a real working knowledge of her enemy, and how to stampede her into making mistakes. Captain Christie made several very large blunders, and those blunders played very well in Captain Kato's tactical plans.

There was certainly some elements of outright dumb luck, as in any battle; but in the end, it was strategic planning, and timely execution of established tactics; that finally won the battle and the Day for Captain Marika Kato."

Rodney had a meaningful question; "This is for my interest alone. But, in the end, what was the death toll; after the battle?"

Captain Chambers, stunned by the question, and beginning to put his stuff away in his briefcase; "Oh, didn't I mention it? The death toll, which could have been catastrophic, was not. The Human death toll was zero! And zero casualties! Only the Grand Cross Fleet, and those three hulk ships, were destroyed. The Pirate Fleet assembled in Sector 2323, stands intact, with little to no damage.

If you ask me, this battle was engineered to result in as few casualties as possible. It is unclear that Marika Kato, assumed to be quite bright, is that intelligent. But I'm always open for pleasant surprises."

As soon as the Chamberlain closed the door to the briefing room, he turned to the King and nodded, discreetly. Then and only then, did Rodney get up from where he was sitting, and come around to the table, opposite Julia and her assistant, Robert.

Then he pointed a finger at her, in a manner, pregnant with meaning: "… all right, I allow you five minutes of exclusive time with the King. Make your presentation, and make it a good one."

Julia got up and pulled a data chip from her pocket, and inserted it into the console; "Please have a look at this. It will make everything clear. This took my staff and I, three and a half days to find. We went into Quartz Christies' brain and inventoried everything."

The King then asked, "OK, was any program or tool mis-programmed, or defective in any way?"

"Surprisingly, no. Every one of her primary and secondary modules were inventoried, present, and working perfectly. Then we found an 'extra' module."; Julia was now speaking in conspiratorial tones, trying to make as much meaning out of this discovery as possible.

Rodney glanced at Julia's face, and noticed the concern. Something was very wrong, and Julia had been masking her concern for the duration of the entire previous meeting. He decided to let her run with it a while longer; "All right, what did you find?"

Julia now opened the file with a larger amount of the text available for reading; "We dis-assembled this program and then translated it to plain English, so that you could understand it. I have removed this program from Quartz's brain unit, and stored it away with a forensic lock; in my personal vault at my home. Please read it for yourself."

Talking to himself, at low volume, Rodney read what was on the screen; "Let's see, switch on when target in command chair, located … umm Grand Cross, attach to emotion block, … umm ummm, what the hell? This transposes all the signaling through the emotion block and amplifies all the numeric values by one-thousand percent. Do I read this right?"

Rodney was now beginning to see why Julia was so concerned, and cold chills ran up his spine as he glanced over to face Julia.

Julia met his gaze, eye to eye; "You have it exactly. I'm so glad you could understand this. It really helps me to explain the rest."

"This program would turn Quartz Christie into a paranoid maniac. Maybe even a murderer! This program seems very sophisticated, how many people could write something like this?"; he enquired.

Julia was now quite sure she had the King's undivided attention; "That's the beauty of it. A ten-year-old child could write this. It's so simple, that most analysts might miss it entirely, but more importantly, because the coding is so general for quality; the number of suspects automatically reaches into the thousands!"

"Sabotage! Sabotage of my 50-billion credit Android prototype. Damn, Damn, Damn! Hand crafted, of the finest materials; programmed by hand for many years; hell I've met with Quartz Christie. She is as Human as I am! And from what I've been told, she has become a personal friend of yours, isn't that true?"; Rodney, had gotten to his feet without realizing it, and was now stomping around the room, in a fairly serious rage; trying to figure out who might commit such a treason.

Julia was now craning her neck and spinning in her chair; to keep her eyes on the King; "Your Majesty, now that we know, what can we do? We can't just go public, somebody might get shot. It is obvious to me, that someone is either mad about Quartz Christie as a political matter; or worse, somebody is just plain jealous of Quartz, in a professional capacity."

Still pacing the room, it was obvious Rodney was thinking on levels Julia could not fathom. After all, he was at the bottom of everything, a politician. And from Julia's vantage point, a pretty good one; "Look Julia, I have to deal with liars, cheats and scheming bastards every day. That's normal stuff, and it doesn't frighten me. Most people, even scum-bags of that kind, aren't very smart and are just trying to position themselves to get an easy meal-ticket.

But this smacks of a long-thought out plan, real intelligence. And is the kind of stuff my father taught me to deal with. There are ways to handle this, even when we don't have a clear idea of who specifically, we're dealing with. Julia, your main interest is to save the Life of Quartz Christie. Right?"

"Yes, of course… Just tell me what I can do!"; Julia replied.

Rodney was thinking very fast, partially out loud. But he was now looking around at Julia, and clearly had formulated a plan; "I'm going to ask you to do some fairly exotic things. And a lot of it has to do with Quartz Christie. Will you do it, if the end game is safety and the continued Life of quartz Christie?"

Julia enquired; "What will I be doing?"

"First, I'm going to have you partially reprogram Quartz Christie. She will never Captain a ship for the Empire again. Nextly, I need to talk her enemies, some of which are known, into letting her live; if she leaves Galactic Center. Julia, Quartz Christie will be leaving for good."

Rodney was really building up a head of steam, now that a plan of action had been formulated; "Tomorrow morning, you will receive and accept a formal invitation to lunch, here at the Palace. Just you, nobody else. I think Robert there can be trusted, but it will appear more sociable if I am merely having a pleasant lunch with a pretty woman. Does that appeal to you?"

"Yes, of course. I would love to come to lunch with you!"; she replied. Finally, she would be able to help Quartz Christie. Even though this smacked of secret dealings, if it would make it possible to save Quartz, all else was shortbread.

Rodney smiled, his warmest smile, this might be easier than he at first thought. He led her to the door; "I need to make some preparations, but I'll be ready by lunch tomorrow. Julia don't worry. Chamberlain, please escort Miss Carden and her assistant to their shuttle, I want to make sure they get back to Galactic Research without incident."

John Marvik walked into a small office in the Royal Palace, and with honest charm, offered his hand in true friendship."; "Thank-you Your Majesty, for seeing me on such short notice."

"I'm glad to be of service. Actually I'm glad you've come this morning; as I wanted to discuss some matters with yourself as well."; Rodney replied, with honest friendship in his voice. He knew this man, his entire life, was much trusted by his father, and now inherited to himself. But even Rodney, the King, knew that Mr. Marvik (like many people) had more than one agenda.

"Your Majesty, I wanted to have some idea of your intentions towards this Kato girl, in 2323; and I wish to suggest the destruction of the Android Quartz Christie."; John asked in a smooth transition that led to Mr. Marvik sitting in a chair opposite his King's desk.

Rodney was now on the ground, he wanted to be on; and was privately happy it had been broached by John Marvik; "I don't understand. Intentions towards Marika Kato?"

"Yes Rodney. I assume you will punish her for the destruction of the Grand Cross. After all, it did cost fifteen trillion credits, a lot even for an Alpha grade piece of equipment."; Mr. Marvik enquired.

Rodney had been led exactly where he wanted to be, and was now in the right places in his mind; "I still don't understand. It is my understanding that Grand Cross was sent to sector 2323, by our own Fleet Command. Captain Christie was ordered, ordered mind you, to harass ships in that sector.

An invention of the Empire, Captain Christie then proceeded to destroy seven ships and kill two hundred forty seven people; murdered mind you! And somehow I'm supposed to be insulted that the pirate fleet of sector 2323, led by Captain Marika Kato, took sufficient offense as to try, and then succeed in destroying the Grand Cross in clear retribution. Again, I fail to see your point of view."

Mr. Marvik was stunned; but not visibly; "Are you telling me you intend to do nothing about this extreme insult to the Empire?"

"So you wish me to order punitive attacks upon the ships of sector 2323, especially the ship commanded by a seventeen year old Captain of the Bentenmaru, Marika Kato; simply because these upstarts in the 'hinterlands' handed us our hat in a fight they had every right to win?!

John, you are being unusually predictable. Let me tell you a story. I was here to watch my Grandfather Notia, get into a discussion he merely didn't like, ordered the other party out into the backyard of this Palace, and had him beheaded. I saw that with my own eyes.

My Father, you know the one; named King Isaac, your friend, did punitive attacks, sometimes for no reason; merely to harass and terrorize planets into submission. He was assassinated at the end of only 10 years as king.

Endless warfare and conflict, the Empire could not afford for ever. All for the honor, unearned; of the all powerful Empire. Where no Man felt safe in his own home, no business was safe from punitive confiscation; no wealth sufficient to bribe the Empire into leaving wealthy manufacturers of things we needed, ALONE to do their honorable work. All for profit by thievery, the work of outright evil.

And now you wish me to return to all of that, just because a little child has shown us wisdom! Maybe I should return to the processes of evil, and have you personally hauled out into the backyard of this Palace and have you shot dead! John, can you honestly stand on Empire so strongly that you are willing to die for it?";

Rodney was on a role, and the endgame was now in sight.

John Marvik had never been spoken to this way, since Notia was King; "No of course not. Many of the changes your father started, and you have continued, some you have started yourself; are good things. But do you really think there is enough people that can govern themselves, that the Empire can stand back and let them have free rein, over their entire systems?"

"Yes John, I do. That principle of yours has been the guiding theme for the Empire for five hundred years at least. But even you know that my policies have worked beyond all expectations. While it is true that some systems ended up in barbarism; most have gone the way of statesmanship, and good governance.

The coffers of the Empire have never known such profits. Our treasury has increased, year over year, by at least 40-percent, in comparison to the times of King Notia.

Just humor me, and we'll play a game of twenty-questions. OK?"; Rodney was really getting into his role as educator.

John had little choice but to humor his impetuous King; "Sure, go ahead."

"Okay John, Sea of the Morningstar is Marika Katos' home planet. Does that government show any signs of excessive corruption or brutishness?"; Rodney asked.

"No, actually I have to agree, that system is doing pretty well."; Mr. Marvik replied.

"And does Marika Kato, in her new-found power and respect from others; show any inclination to corrupt shows of force, or punitive damages to people, without good reason?"; enquired Rodney.

Mr. Marvik replied; "No, intelligence reports show that she has returned home and is presently behaving herself."

Rodney now went for the kill; "Do you believe her to be trying to trick Galactic Internal Affairs?"

"No, I don't believe she has the intentions or the quickness of mind to pull off a feat like that."; John replied.

"So then John, what can be deduced? Is Marika Kato a bad person that needs to be reprimanded by the Empire, simply because she has shown us our own shortcomings?"; Rodney asked.

Mr. Marvik was now on his own role; "So you actually do intend to do nothing about these upstarts."

"Nope, I do have plans. And they include you, John. I'm planning on breaking Quartz Christie. She'll never command another Empire vessel. I'm going to remove her Gold Skull Pirate status. And just to throw in an added bonus for you and your associates; I plan to send Quartz Christie away from Galactic Center. She will be a kind of peace offering; and I want you and those of your friends that oppose Quartz Christies' survival; to give my offer some thought."; Rodney was making his final offer. He had a seventy percent chance of getting his way, and he knew it. It was a good offer, and John was left with no further weapons in the discussion.

John Marvik had been outmaneuvered, and he got the strong feeling Rodney was not saying some things; but he could find no problem with the solution of what to do with Quartz Christie; "Now THAT is an interesting proposal. It solves several problems. For one thing, Galactic Internal Affairs is reporting increased tension in sector 2323, in public places where the conversation pops up.

It is clear that the attack by the Grand Cross was seen as a punitive attack by the Empire. By doing nothing to respond to our defeat; it would go a long way in settling things down, in that sector. Moreover, the events in the Sargasso Corridor have put neighboring systems on mild alert. By not attacking Marika Kato, it would show that your previous policies are still in force and that the previous incident was an unfortunate aberration.

If I read you rightly, you intend to turn Quartz Christie over to the likes of somebody in Sector 2323. Possibly even Marika Kato. That would show the public that the Empire feels that Miss Kato is some kind of Hero, for saving their sector. The people of that sector can then treat the Android in any fashion they so desire. That way their collective anger is placed away from the Empire and seated squarely on the shoulders of the actual perpetrator. Do I see your plan clearly?"

Rodney was quite pleased with himself, and proud of his long-time friend; "I did not see all of that, but yes. I think you have the main thrust of my plans, regarding both Marika Kato and Quartz Christie. I'm hoping this will kill two birds with one stone, silence our critics, and restore peaceful relations in several sectors. So John, do we have a deal your friends can stand behind?"

John Marvik got up, walked over to the desk and shook the hand of his friend, the King; "Yes, I can go with it. I will speak to my friends on this matter. Can I call you later this morning?"

"That would be great. Thank you John, for your understanding in this matter. Your call will be of great help, since I wish to move on this plan very soon."; smiling with honest appreciation.

John walked to the door, opened it, and looked back to say; "Thank you very much. It is nice, to occasionally know what is in your mind. It is hard for me to serve my King, without that knowledge. "

He stepped out and closed the door behind him.

Chamberlain walked over to the desk, where is King sat reading some reports; "Your Majesty, your luncheon guest has arrived."

"Wonderful! Show her in. I will direct her out to the Veranda myself. After that I'll signal you when to serve. OK?"; leaping out of his chair, and cheerfully engaged, he was already thinking ahead.

Chamberlain was already opening the door to the office; "Please Miss Carden, do come in."; speaking to Julia cheerfully.

"Thank you Chamberlain, I wasn't sure if I was on time or not."; she interjected. But then her attention was diverted by a rapidly approaching King.

Rodney could not be happier. His plans were coming into focus, and his little secrets were moving apace; "There you are Julia, please let me have your hand; we'll go out to the Veranda. I think you will like the view!"

While he was seeing Julia towards the open double-doors, which exited out to the Veranda, he held up a memory chip and showing it only to Julia; then slipped it into her coat pocket. She tried to ask, but he put a serious look on his face and shook his head; in the negative.

Julia took the hint; "Oh what a beautiful place to have lunch!"

"I thought you might appreciate this. It is my favorite place to eat, and the weather was so nice today; I just couldn't resist the temptation to use the Veranda."; explaining.

Julia really was taken aback by the utter splendor of the view out the back of the Palace. A beautiful patio, which acted as a Veranda, followed by several acres of green grass, and then a property line of sorts; which then began a actual forest she could not see the end of;

"Oh my, a real forest with evergreen trees. I've never seen one up close. There aren't many stands like this on Galactic Center, is there?"

"Unfortunately, you're quite right. This stand of forest, is two-hundred fifty acres. There are only five more stands of forest trees on the whole planet of Galactic Center. In their infinite wisdom, centuries ago; the pressure to absorb so much more stuff from other planets, forced us to absorb all the land of Galactic Center, and cement in almost the entire world.

I used to play in those woods, when I was young. These days, the thought of these trees disappearing would make me very sad."; the King replied honestly. He indicated a chair at the table on the Veranda, and helped Julia take her seat.

Julia was truly touched by the candor of this young man; "Thank you your Majesty."; and interjecting on the same topic; "But don't we have many parks for the children in the Cities? There are trees in those parks. I've seen them every day."

"Quite true, but every one of those trees and shrubs, and even the birds and small creatures; are imported from other planets. In a very real sense, we are no longer a home-world. We have become a large base-station and business center. It just looks like a planet from space."; he said, shocking himself, by his directness.

Rodney looked over to Chamberlain and nodded his head, as a signal to begin serving lunch. Julia shook her head in disbelief, hearing what was actually so disquieting, about her own world; "I hope some day, things can be reversed and a more wholesome kind of life can be found for our Home. "

Rodney strongly agreed; "Yes, so do I."

Chamberlain began to enquire about drinks and started to serve appetizers.

Julia Carden's personal condominium was a stark contrast to the face she presented to her workplace. At work she was the very picture of order and efficiency. But her home was ,as usual, a wreck. She rarely had time to do the minimum things required to keep her home in the same shape as her lab at work.

Not much furniture, to speak of, various kinds of coats and sweaters, strewn around, kitchen in disarray; and don't even think about watching the television projector. It was hidden under and behind assorted items of clothing, books, reports; and other assorted junk.

But a discerning person could see order from chaos. Her work was everywhere. Her work was structured in every corner. Her work was her life.

Stretched out on the couch, in what served as a living room; was the body of a woman. White hair, lovely figure, and an interesting; even intelligent face. Clothed only in a white, shiny uniform. But there was no respiration, no movement, no Life. For all intents and purposes, dead.

But Julia Carden had other ideas. An hour and half previous, Julia had brow-beaten four security guards, into bringing the body via shuttle, to the street where she lived, and had it carried up to her condo. And, after they had left; now on her couch, there it lay.

After taking off her street coat, and relaxing in a chair for a few scant minutes; she finally drew in one more gust of air, into her lungs. And slowly let it out; "It's time."

She got to her feet and approached the lifeless body of Quartz Christie, bent over her dear friend; and turned her head to the right. Then reached down behind the left ear, found the depression that indicated the switch, and held it down for just over one second. The entire body of what recently had been lifeless, was now stiff as a board, and then proceeded to relax again. The mouth opened, and she let out a scream in stark terror; "… no, wait, no, please don't …"

Quartz had awakened, just as she had every other time she had been low-leveled. Just as Quartz was about to scream again, Julia reached down to touch her face; "Quartz, listen to me, no listen; look at me. That's it, better. Relax please. Calm yourself, the darkness is gone, and you will live to tell the tale."; she told Quartz, smiling, with a few well placed tears.

Her friend was alive, and it seemed she was operational. Four days of work, rewriting parts of her system, not counting the time she remained in Nitrogen storage, and all seemed quite good. Aside from the usual panicked awakening sequence Quartz Christie always went through, after one of these restart events.

Her eyes now focusing on Julia, a mild smile found its way onto Quartz' face. She then moved her head and scanned the scene; "Oh Julia, I'm so glad you're here. Uh, … but where is this. I don't recognize it?"

Julia went over to the kitchen refrigerator, opened it and pulled out a container of bottled water, poured some into a glass and brought it back to Quartz, on the couch; and handed it to her. Quartz followed her like a hawk; "This is my home dear. Can you sit up? Good, that's better, have some water. You've been in Nitrogen storage, off and on, for almost two weeks; so I won't be surprised if you're a little dry."

Quartz took the glass and drank more than half of it, and placed it on the table next to the couch; "OK, Julia tell me what I've missed. Somehow I think I've missed a whopper!"

Sitting down next to her friend, Julia knew Quartz was not ready. But she had to get her up to speed as fast as possible; "Quartz, we need to pull a diagnostic, to make sure everything still knits together properly, then we'll talk more. Firmware protocol, main menu number four, section sixteen, item number one; execute!"

Quartz Christie went almost lifeless, for exactly ten-seconds, and then she reported; "Full Diagnostic; firmware green, all programs primary green, programs secondary green."; Quartz then awakened again and resumed her normal performance.

"Excellent, I didn't goof it all up. Thank God in Heaven your all right. Now you can ask your questions."; Julia was so relieved, as she had no time left to do anything like diagnostics before she had Quartz moved to her home.

Quartz was now more curious than ever; "Okay, give. I have to know what I've missed!"

Julia was very intent; "Okay, we have two hours only, to get you in some kind of shape to travel. As I said before, Rodney, the King was truly your salvation. But your life cost you some things."

"Okay, what kind of things?"; Quartz asked tentatively.

"You did in fact have some serious enemies, that wanted you scrapped for parts. The King made a deal with the whole lot of them. In the meantime, he had me make some changes in your programming, and to ensure that you weren't tampered with after the changes were made. That's why you're presently in my home.

Some of these things are going to be a shock. First, I had to remove your programming, involved with the command of battleships. Second, you're no longer attached to the Galactic Fleet, as a Pirate Captain. You're still wearing your Gold Skull, but the King will ask for it almost as soon as you sit down for a meeting to be held soon. So don't be surprised when you see him and find yourself broken and striped of power.

Next, I have added to your martial-arts library; please check your applications table; section three, level four, items forty-six through seventy-four."; Julia replied in great detail.

Quartz followed her creators' instructions, and let out a whistle; "Wow, I'm going to be a holy terror. Okay, what else?"

"Quartz, you're going on a long journey. No need to pack; the King has a bag packed and waiting for you. There will be a box, you will hand-carry to the person its' intended for. You'll be told about that when you speak to the King.

But most importantly, aside from your new firmware instructions, which the King will tell you more about; you will be a free agent for the rest of your days. You will be expected to disappear from the map, and make a new life for yourself. Galactic Center will never be your home again."; she explained, again in great detail.

"You weren't kidding. A lot of shocks. I'trying to digest them all now."; Quartz replied. A strong set of worry lines formed on that lovely face, that was the one and only Quartz Christie.

Julia went to the front window and looked down into the street;

"Good your shuttle has not arrived yet. I'm so sorry for all of this, but that was the price of your Life and Freedom. You can relax for a while. I think there is almost an hour before your shuttle arrives. I cannot travel with you. This time is the last time we will spend together for a very long time."

"So I am to be banished from the Empire!?"; Quartz asked.

"No, the King has large plans for you. I don't see into them as far as I would like; but he definitely wants you to succeed in your new life. And to show up those idiots that wanted you dead.

You are going to get the chance to make something of yourself. And there will be some danger. That's why I gave you additional self-defense skills. Live, find work with your new companions, beat the odds. And some day, you might get the chance to return home. I'd love to jam THAT down those bastard's throats!"

"I'll try not to let you down, Julia. Survival is my mission now!"; Quartz replied.

Julia looked out the window again, and saw the shuttle landing for her friend; "Don't do this for me. Do it for you! Just like the rest of us, you are now just you against the Galaxy! Welcome dear, to the Human Race!

Come now, your shuttle has arrived. Let's show them what you're made of!";

Julia had built up a huge head of steam. She put on her coat, grabbed Quartz by the hand, and hauled her to her feet. They both walked to the door, and exited the room. They walked down the hall to an open elevator, got in, Julia gave the command that would take them to the street level. The elevator door closed.

Quartz Christie stepped out of the shuttle, which had landed in front of the Royal Palace. Walking towards the front door, it opened unbidden, to reveal a smiling Chamberlain; "Welcome, Captain Christie. Do follow me, his Majesty is awaiting your arrival."

She followed the Chamberlain through the anteroom to the first door to the right, which was opened by the Chamberlain, to allow Quartz to enter; "You Majesty, Captain Quartz Christie."

"Do come in Captain, have a seat. There is much to talk about, and little time."; Rodney invited. He did not get up from his chair, but instead stay'd seated at his desk.

Quartz did find a nice chair, facing the desk, and sat down, crossing her legs as women do, placing her arms on the armrests; "Very well your Majesty, how can I be of service?"

"Julia Carden has gone to enormous lengths to follow my instructions, and provide as humane a path to this moment as she could. I trust she has informed you of several matters, transpiring while you were out of commission?"; Rodney inquired.

"Yes, it was a bit sketchy and vague, but she was given very little time, so she just gave me the high-points, and the basic outline of my future.

Julia did tell me though, that my existence is thanks to your dogged determination to get to the bottom of stuff I am still not completely clear on. I hope you will fill me in a bit more, your Majesty."; concise and to the point, Quartz was being herself.

Rodney was very pleased, so far. Quartz Christie seemed to be operating normally; "You are quite welcome. But first, I need to get to the point, on a few matters. There is good stuff, and there is bad stuff. Which would you like to do first?"

Quartz was thinking very fast, in an attempt to read this fellow. He was not behaving as she had been told, by everyone, except Julia; who had made it clear that the King was a better thinker than he let on;

"I think I'll go with the bad stuff first, and thank you for the promised candor."

Pleased even more, Rodney was sure that Quartz was all right, proven by her obvious courage under fire; "Excellent! Okay, the very worst news. The Battleship Grand Cross Alpha Prototype was destroyed by a series of actions you took, which conflicted with your direct assignment and orders. Do you understand that?"

Quartz was not expecting a direct verbal assault quite so quickly. The King was indeed more mentally agile than she had at first thought; "I truly admit to blunders, in battle; and I do admit to stretching my orders beyond the norm. However, if you give me another Grand Cross, I will finish the job I started."

Rodney was sure that the stresses placed on her, had left some lasting erroneous memories. But he was ready for that;

"Firstly, the Grand Cross was the only one in existence, and cost the Empire more than 15-trillion credits. There are two keels being laid as we speak, to begin on another set of ships; which will not be completed for another fourteen years. These will be finished products, and not alpha or beta models; which explains the extra time. After all, many changes are dictated by the results of your defeat."

Rodney then picked up a piece of paper, got up and handed it to Quartz; then returned to his seat; "I want you to read that. It's an exact copy of your original orders as to your mission to Captain the Grand Cross."

Quartz looked at, and read the document. It strangely varied from her recollection!; "I don't understand! My recollection is that I was ordered to attack,test and destroy Pirate Vessels. This indicates that I was to test vessels without destruction, and locate viable Captains! This means I have some memory errors."

Rodney was very happy. His guesses about lingering memory problems were correct. The rest was going to be easier from here; "Now you see the problem. But the causes were two fold. First, some of the erroneous decisions you made, were entirely yours. And I hold you partially responsible for the destruction of 7 Pirate Vessels, and the death of two-hundred forty-seven Human Lives!

Second, I want you to see something. Come over here to the console monitor."

Quartz got up and stood next to the King. He produced a data chip, inserted it into a reader socket, and data was displayed on the screen. Rodney began to explain; "Julia Carden found this program in your brain. It was an extra. Please read it for yourself."

Quartz began to read the translation, and started to shake with rage; "This program would have made me into a nut, every time I sat in the command chair. Whoever did this, made me into a murderer!"

"Now you're beginning to see the Truth!"; the King replied.

"Tell me the name of the Traitor that wrote this and I will bring you his separated head on a plate!"; so livid was she, Quartz Christie had trouble containing her anger. At least, this time, she had a legitimate reason for it.

The King was now extremely pleased with Quartz' progress. This information would correct her memory of past events, and make her normal again; "There is no way for me to know who did this. And I cannot ask, via direct channels; as the people that helped to do this might be the very people I would ask for assistance."

With that last, Quartz began to calm down. The King just became a very intelligent man, and adequate to the task of dealing with sabotage of this quality; "That means this will take time to figure out. And in the meantime, you need to assuage the fears of these folks, of being discovered; by getting rid of a purposely made, erroneous piece of Android junk!"

She began a compassionate smile, and gave it to her King. She was finally able to trust Julia's judgement and trust in this young fellow. Wow!; "I must leave then. And as soon as possible. That way you can press forward as best you can, without me to remind others to be careful."

Rodney pulled across his desk, a partially open wooden box, of extremely high quality. And pointed to her Gold Skull; "You were officially broken as a Gold Skull Pirate, several hours ago. I need you to remove yours from your cloak, and put it into this box."

"Julia told me you would want it back. Is this the box she told me I would hand-carry?"; she had heard of these boxes, almost unbreakable, with very high craftsmanship. She carefully unhooked the clasp that attached the Gold Skull to her cloak. And then just as carefully, she held it above the interior of the box, and placed it on the obvious seat for it, and let go. She then grabbed up her cloak, folded it neatly and placed it on her arm. She turned away and retook her seat.

Rodney was astonished. Quartz took this aspect of her new life with better behavior than he expected. She really was a cybernetic triumph.

He pulled out some documents, rolled them up, and placed these also, into the box, next to the Gold Skull. Then, and only then; did he pick up the lid of the box and lever it over till it mated to the bottom half. A soft click, and it was sealed.

Rodney was still not finished; "This box is sealed with a biometric thumbprint seal. Even I can't open it. You will carry this to your new owner, if she'll have you. Julia told me how to point to your firmware. Please access you firmware, level fourteen, section 'C', table eleven, and read what is written there."

The King watched as Quartz did as she was bidden. Fear passed across her eyes, then she teared up knowing she would eat several shades of crow. Then understanding, then resolve; "You know what will happen dontcha? She has to hate my guts. Marika Kato will probably blow a hole right through my brain."

In that moment, Rodney really did feel compassion for this beautiful Android. But there was nothing else he could do for her; "It's possible. But I have some understanding of that young lady. Your odds are better than fifty-fifty. Miss Kato is a curious soul, and that's your edge. She'll give you a fair hearing at least. Then she might kill you. But I don't think so. There is no homicide in her history.

In any case, she's the only person in this Universe, that can open this box. You personally, are the beginnings of a peace offering, directly from the King of the Empire. There are other gifts inside, including the Gold Skull.

It's yours, for the moment. The box is not to be surrendered to anyone but Marika Kato. If you'll look over against that wall, you'll find a pack. Inside is two spare uniforms. There's spare room, if you want to pack the box into it."

Quartz Christie, still shedding tears, got up and walked over to the pack, sitting against the wall. She picked it up, carried it to the chair, and opened it. She placed her folded cloak in the bottom of the pack, and then went to the desk, picked up the box, and placed that on the soft and protective cloak. Then she re-closed the pack and set it on the floor, and finally sat down in the chair.

Drying her tears, and stroking her face with her palm; she lifted her face, to face her King; "So when do I leave?"

"A shuttle is going to land out in the back yard, behind the palace. You will be taken to the space station. From there you will board a space liner; the Princess Prestige. It will take you to Sea of the Morningstar. Your ticket is first class, with all the premium services. You will be looked after, for the entire voyage, and you will get first class service.

And you have a generous allowance, for any incidentals you might wish to purchase on your voyage, and even after you get to Sea of the Morningstar. Your purchasing power is, in practical terms, unlimited; until such time as Marika Kato accepts ownership of you. Then she becomes responsible for your welfare."; Rodney explained quietly. Things were getting a bit awkward.

A few minutes later, the roar of landing thrusters could be heard through the double doors, which led out to the Veranda. And a shuttle could be seen, setting down on a landing spot in the grass.

Rodney got up, and walked over to Quartz Christie; stretched out his hand in peace. Quartz gave him hers, and allowed him to lead her, out of her chair. She picked up her pack, slid her arm through one of the shoulder-straps, and continued to allow Rodney to lead her outside.

She gasped at the strange beauty of the back lawn, the forest beyond; and the incongruity of the space shuttle that sat on the landing spot. The shuttle main door was just opening, and the pilot walked out to meet them.

Coming to attention, the pilot saluted his King; "Your Majesty, reporting as ordered."

"Thank you Captain, please take good care of your passenger. She is special to me."; Rodney entreated.

The shuttle pilot smiled; "Yes your Majesty."

Rodney now turned to face Quartz Christie, and gave her a friendly hug; "You have my honest wish for success in this new venture. Good luck, I will be looking in on you from time to time. And Miss Kato has every right to enquire about new uniforms whenever you might need them, at no cost to her."

Quartz was literally embarking into the unknown, and she knew it. She accepted the hug, and shook his hand; "Thank you your Majesty; I think!? I hope we all do well enough that I can pass this way again."

Quartz and her pilot walked into the shuttle. The door closed. A couple of minutes later, power began to flow, and the King stepped away enough for safety. The engines sprung to life, and the shuttle rose into the air, until it was over a thousand feet in the air. Then a small explosion from the main propulsion units, and the shuttle leapt forward, into a steep ascent. And quickly disappeared from sight.

EPILOG

Marika Kato finds herself a success, in a fashion she neither expected or wanted. And the entire group of Pirates in her sector have found a new and satisfying brotherhood, among their fellows. Next time, the saga of Marika Kato continues, in another episode of Mouretsu Pirates.

私が最初に悪いもので行くと思う

I think I'll go with the bad stuff first