#20

"I hear you've been helping the Chief out," Captain Amboss said in the mess hall. He sat down on the bench across from Seven.

The mess hall was empty, most of the crew had eaten their lunch already. Amboss had a steaming bowl of stew. Seven hadn't opted for the stew. Herm always made him a special meal, dense, often a stir fry with special protein rich meat and calorie heavy vegetables and grains. The little crustacean said that he had done a lot of research on Saiyan diets and that normal food would never subdue their hungers.

Since joining Amboss's pirates, Seven had not gone hungry at all.. He was grateful for that. His many years in the cell back on Sorn had always been tough. No matter what he ate, his hunger never subsided-always gnawing at him.

"I'm doing what I can to help," Seven replied and tore a bit out of the meat in his bowl.

"Aren't we all," Amboss said, poking at his soup with a spoon

Despite their progress, a stale taste of defeat hung in the air and Seven couldn't handle it.

The crew members aboard the Blushing Maid moved about their day with slumped shoulders and hanging heads. Seven spent most of his time in the cargo hold, where the repairs were still underway. They had managed to seal the hold up by welding panels over the opening created by a kinetic round.

The engineering crew members were working around the clock to restore lighting, proper atmosphere control, and artificial gravity as well. In the meanwhile, they had set up a portable atmosphere generator in there so the crew could work without wearing space suits. The zero-gravity environment, however, was quite annoying when trying to get things done.

Seven mostly helped them with physical labor. It was about all he knew how to do. Not that he didn't pay attention the mechanical work they were doing. The Engineering Chief was the same species as Birne, one of the oblong headed race that Seven still hadn't learned the name of. He had deep gray skin covered in black speckles and seemed a good deal older than Birne. He was very kind and patient.

A few time, when the staff were sleeping or someone was on an important task, the Chief let Seven make some of the welds. He taught him on how to use the torch and where to apply the flame and bonding agent.

Seven enjoyed welding and kept hoping that the Chief would offer him to do more. Learning how to do new things was far more entertaining than moving heavy pieces of metal and equipment.

"We can defeat Lord Uzu and rebuild, right?" Seven asked.

"I don't know if it's that simple. I think… our enterprise might be done for," Amboss said. "If the rumors are true, Uzu is one of the most powerful warriors in the galaxy. He has his sights set on me and I don't think he will stop until he has me in a PTO prison. My bounty isn't chump change either, so he has all the incentive to keep trying. I will make him one of the richest people in the galaxy once he has me.."

Seven frowned. "We can't let him get you. What if we exchange something of value? Pay him the bounty he seeks."

"You're suggesting we pay him off? Hm. That might work, only if prestige matters little to him. If he's hunting me for that-he wont' stop no matter what he's offered. It's a PTO Remnant bounty on my head after all-we would have to come up with twenty million credits. I don't have anywhere near that amount.."

Seven shrugged. "We're pirates, right? Isn't acquiring rare treasures part of the job. So, why don't we find some."

Amboss let out one of his hearty chuckles. "Secret treasure huh? You read too much kid."

"Captain, I'm being serious."

Amboss scratched his chin for a long minute, seemingly mulling it over.

"You know, you might be onto something kid. I always dreamed of finding the Repository of the Gods. It's a legendary place, only the few and the chosen have ever visited there. Those that returned had only spoke of great wonders.

"From what I heard, apparently there are ancient vaults containing valuable artifacts and treasures lost to time. It's not just ripe for the plucking. Supposedly, the Repository is guarded by an order of Warrior-Monks that train and fight with a fierce dedication. I don't think it would be easy to raid such a place, even if we are able find out where it is. I heard Lord Frieza was looking for it for decades and never found it, before he went chasing some other treasure on Planet Namek."

"Repository of the Gods," Seven said as if he were sampling the word on his tongue. "Well, from the books I've read the pirates in it always started off with a lead of some sort-usually a map or a rumor. That's what we need. If we could find out what Lord Frieza knew, we might be able to pick up where he left off."

"Seven-this might just work. I know a guy in the PTO, actually" Amboss said, his eyes lighting up with excitement. "And, he owes me a favor. We'll pay him a visit. This might be our only chance to find a way out of this mess."

Lord Uzu, draped in deep burgundy robes, stood looking out the viewport of his ship The Angel of Death.

She was a Howler-class vessel, a new age PTO Remnant warship. It had double the amount of armaments than default configuration and upgraded engines. The hull was also decorated with shiny reflective silver and gold paneling, making the stars gleam off its surface as it glided through space.

After reducing Amboss's base to molten slag, Uzu had continued the cat and mouse game. They had been trailing the Blushing Maid for days, having only lost its exact position a day or so ago. Their trail of radiation had gone cold and no hyperspace jumps had been made. They were adrift out there, and no doubt had made repairs enough to stop the radiation leakage.

Eventually, the Blushing Maid would have to go to port-for supplies and fuel. That's when Uzu would strike and capture his prey.

In the corner. Kascade brooded silently against the bulkhead, also gazing out the viewport. Uzu knew that he wanted to get his vengeance, he wanted to destroy the Saiyan for what he had done. At first he had been hesitant to let Kascade fight again. But, he had decided that if the situation arised, he would grant him that privilege. The young Aestrulian needed to regain some honor. Uzu was already sick of his sulky attitude.

The hatch behind him opened with a swish and Nyra entered, her heeled boots clicking on the smooth polished deck. She wore typical Flexweave armor. The skin tight jumpsuit she wore beneath it betrayed all of her voluptuous curves. Uzu always felt a stirring in his loins when staring at her. He knew too, that he could have her any time he wanted. But, he never acted upon that knowledge. No, there was nothing appetizing about forcing a woman into bed. He much preferred to make them come to him.

She kept her head low and bowed before him.

"Glad to see you're feeling better Nyra," Uzu said.

As she rose up out of her bow, he cupped her face. Her eyes went wide and she froze there. He couldn't tell if it was terror or desire that forced her body to shake, but he held his hand there staring into her cold blue eyes for a long moment.

"Never fail me again," he said, his voice smooth and cold. "Do you understand?"

"Y-Yes Lord Uzu," she muttered.

He leaned close and pecked her cheek with a kiss. Still close, he whispered into her ear. "Good."

She slinked away, taking a seat at one of the free consoles. He watched her out of the corner of his ey. She seemed tense and that meant he was getting to her-good.

"Lord Uzu, I'm picking up a burst of hyperspace radiation," the radar officer said.

"They're jumping," Lord Uzu said.

"Check all possible nav-computer resolution points. I want to know where they might be headed next."

"Running projections now-sir," the navigation officer said.

The entire bridge crew were silent. He loved their silence. That meant fear. He had seen crews before that talked and chatted amongst each other, making the time pass and building camaraderie. Not aboard his ship though. The fear kept them focused on their tasks, not on distractions. They were far more efficient that way and if there was a battle and some of them died, the others would feel no remorse and their performance would not be affected the deaths of their "friends." No, they would keep on doing their jobs regardless of the bodies lying beside them.

"Interesting-" the navigation officer commented.

"Oh?" Uzu replied.

"Sir, it appears that all of the potential jump points are within PTO Remnant territory."

"Send the probes out. That is very interesting. Just what are they up to, I wonder?"

"Maybe Amboss wants to hide in plain sight?" Nyra said.

"Unlikely," Kascade replied, his voice cool thunder across the room. "He's probably going to a spaceport so he can trade ships. That would be what I would do."

"An interesting prediction, care to explain Kascade?" Lord Uzu said.

"Well, he knows he's not out of the deep end yet. He doesn't know how closely we've been trailing him. He probably thinks we're a jump or two behind him still. He will abandon the Blushing Maid, perhaps even split up his crew. Once they've dispersed, it will be harder for us to track them all. Then, they'll be able to go into hiding again."

"That would be the smart thing to do. But, he lost most of his followers when we attacked his base. He has only a handful left and dwindling resources. I don't think he will abandon his ship, especially with its capabilities. If he goes to a high traffic world, he could elude us without having to swap vessels," Lord Uzu said and tapped his chin. "Plus he's sentimental, he'll keep the ship."

"It will take longer, but we'll find him still," Nyra said. "The galaxy is a small place these days. He can't run forever."

"No, he cannot," Lord Uzu said. "I want you to make a call to all of our contacts in the PTO. Make sure they keep an eye out for the Blushing Maid and report any activity to use immediately. He will curse himself for entering PTO territory by the time this is over. He just made our jobs all the easier," Lord Uzu said.