It fascinates me that the sex lives of the Lovely Angels have received so much attention. I have a good idea as to why but exactly who started the stories about their sexual tastes and how flexible those tastes are is still a mystery to me.
I suspected that it might be the gossip rags but inquiries have been less then profitable. I did get a suggestion to take a look towards the Catholic Church.
Vatican II had no comment but to condemn my soul to hell and other such stuff that I ignored. The inquisition hit-team that started dogging me a few days later was much harder to ignore. I may have upset someone.
-Philasia Drast's Guns, Bad Karma and Babes (Unauthorized, unreleased and under litigation, Biography of the Lovely Angels)
One of the waiters pulled back Yuri's chair for her then slid it forward for her to sit. Yuri reached down and pushed the hem of her black cocktail dress down her legs. Tamikia and her children as well as Kei were being seated around the table. Kei and Yuri were seated on opposite sides of the table from each other.
"High life." Kei mouthed, Yuri laughed quietly. Kei was wearing short, black skirt, with a white blouse and a black jacket. Neither of them were being overly imaginative in clothing, but the dinner was not supposed to be a fashion show.
Captain Halson came up to the table and made a half bow to his guests before taking a seat.
He was wearing his dress uniform again. He did not look upset as he had earlier and Kei thought it improved his looks quite a bit. Yuri noticed a ring on his finger, she couldn't identify the symbol but it looked like a family crest.
As he took his seat at the head of the table he noticed Yuri looking at him. He smiled at her; Yuri dropped her gaze to the tabletop.
"Good evening, ship time that is." He smiled. "I hope you all enjoy your meal."
He then introduced all the guests around the table, and Yuri promptly forgot them.
The waiters began to serve the dinner. The Captain was an excellent host, keeping a pleasant if meaningless conversation going around the table.
Yuri was not sure what she was feeling; she had not felt that way around an attractive man for some time. He made her feel like a sixteen year old.
"So I heard you did very well at the casino," Halson said to Yuri.
"Sort of," Yuri said, feeling her cheeks grow warm, but she met his gaze. Oh god, she thought, his eyes are perfect.
"It's too bad you had to leave."
"I did fairly well at the casino," A young man near the end of the table said, obviously trying to get Yuri's attention. "Won a few hundred."
Yuri and the Captain shared a smile as they continued to stare into each other's eyes.
"Casino?" Tamikia asked.
"I was working." Yuri explained, breaking her gaze with the Captain, turning to face Tamikia.
"Where did you hide the cards this time?" Kei asked as she took a fork full of salad off her plate.
"I didn't play any card games." Yuri shifted her gaze to Kei and stared daggers at her.
"I could teach you a few." Another young man said to her. His dinner companion, an attractive but plump woman, shifted slightly and suddenly a pained look crossed the young man's face. Yuri restrained the urge to laugh at him.
The Captain excused himself near the end of the meal and left the dining room. Yuri mumbled something that sounded like an apology and left the table half way through her desert.
Tamikia watched at Yuri walked away. "Is she going to be alright?" she asked Kei as she put her coffee cup down.
"I hate to tell you this mom," Kei said, a piece of cheesecake halfway to her mouth, "Yuri isn't a virgin any more." She put the desert in her mouth and closed her eyes, obviously savouring the taste.
"That's not what I meant. Well not exactly."
"Yuri may not look it but she doesn't need anyone looking after her," Kei paused, "usually."
"Can we go now mom?" Catherine asked her mother. The bodyguards were standing off to the side of the table. Tamikia nodded and her children were quickly gone.
"Want to go get a drink?" Kei asked.
"Sure, why not."
"We'll put it on Yuri's tab." Kei smiled as she stood.
"How much do you think she won at the casino?"
"Well if we can't get more than a couple of drinks we'll know it wasn't much."
They headed towards one of the nearer bars.
Vincent looked up at Yuri. She held herself up above him, eye closed, moving her hips up and down slowly, her partly opened lips forming a smile, a flush of red across the bridge of her nose and cheeks.
The eye patch had been a surprise; he had thought the glasses more of a disguise. The fine traces of bruising around the patch told him the injury was, like the others he had seen, recent. She was healing unnaturally fast but there were still traces.
As ridiculous as it was he felt a protective urge towards the young woman.
Then he had no time for extraneous thoughts as Yuri increased the speed of their lovemaking. He closed his eyes and let the sensations take him away.
Yuri traced a finger along Vincent's jaw. He opened his eyes and turned to look at her.
"Aren't you satisfied yet?" he asked, exasperation in his voice.
"Satisfied? We're not even halfway through yet," she told him. Yuri stretched in the bed, enjoying the feel of silk sheets sliding against her skin.
She looked around the room. She had liked it the moment she had entered. The suites they had were well decorated, but the Captain's cabin had a more personal atmosphere to it. The interesting and intriguing touches made the place nice to be in.
Vincent wrapped his arms around her and pulled her towards him. Yuri slid up against his body, feeling his interest renew.
"Could you tell me something?" he asked after a gentle kiss.
"As long as it isn't about my rumoured sexual past," Yuri told him, a little breathlessly.
"I'll save those questions for another life time. Why are you here?"
"I'm escorting Tamikia and her family to Peledies nine. You know that."
"That's what you say but, no offence, you are 3WA and you are more than bodyguards. I guess what I really want to know is that if you are putting my passengers, my crew and my ship in danger."
"Do you think I would truly do that?" Yuri felt hurt.
"You wouldn't want anyone to get hurt, but I feel you might be willing to take the chance."
"I can't predict the future. I doubt your ship will be in any danger. But, if there is going to be a problem, it will likely happen after you warp," Yuri told him, not meeting his gaze.
"I like you Yuri, I'd hate if I had to hate you," he said it softly but it tore at Yuri like he had yelled it.
Yuri closed her eyes on some tears, steadied her emotions. She did not like it when innocents were hurt; though she knew in the end it was not her fault. The Central Computer had cleared her and Kei every time. Now Vincent seemed to think that their presence meant that his ship was doomed. What really hurt was that he could be right even though they did not think the ship was in danger.
Vincent pulled her to him again and whispered reassurances to her. Then they made love again, forgetting earlier questions and upsets.
"Do you know where my other stocking is?" Yuri asked from the bed as she clipped the one stocking she had to her garter belt.
"Here." Vincent took the black, silk stocking from where it hung on the lamp and handed it to Yuri.
"Thanks." Yuri slid her leg into it.
Vincent had taken a shower and was already dressed in his work uniform. Plain grey pants, a white shirt he left open at the collar and a grey jacket with several convenient pockets. He was also armed.
"You are such a fascinating young woman," he told Yuri.
"Well since we've already slept together I'll take it that that isn't just a compliment to get me into your bed." Yuri stepped into her dress and pulled it up her body. "Can you close this for me?" She turned around and pulled her hair over her shoulder.
Vincent pulled the material at the back of the dress together and activated the seal tabs.
Yuri let her hair fall back into place as she turned around, put her arms around him, and kissed Vincent deeply.
When Yuri released him Vincent smiled at her then began to laugh.
"What is it?" Yuri asked, very curious as to what he found so funny.
"I just took a shower and now I smell like sex again. My first officer is bound to give me a hard time about this."
"I could shoot this person for you," Yuri said absently as she scanned the room for her shoes.
"Not this time, I need her too much."
"Should I be jealous?" Yuri took a seat on the bed to put her shoes on.
"Maybe." Vincent took his hat from a table by the door. "Farewell," he called to Yuri as he left his room.
"Bye," Yuri said, wondering where her handbag was.
Yuri almost floated back to the suites. She felt centred and relaxed. There were, probably, better ways of achieving such a state than sex, but none of them nearly as much fun as far as she was concerned. She remained her calm even when Kei leaned out of one of the unoccupied suites and pulled her in.
"Problem?" Yuri's tone was unconcerned.
"Enjoy yourself?" Kei smiled at Yuri.
"Perhaps," Yuri said.
"Very naughty, I'm telling."
"Jealous?"
"Not really. Vaguely interested would be a better description. Was he good?"
"A lady doesn't discuss such details."
"What does that have to do with you?"
"Go away Kei, I'm going to take a hot shower."
"You probably need one. The ships going to be warping in about ten minutes, so make that shower quick."
"Right."
The ship was just about to warp when Yuri entered Tamikia's suite. She had showered and changed into her uniform. Kei saw that Tamikia winked at Yuri. Yuri blushed.
A soft tone chimed through the cabin then a soft voice announced the ship was about to warp.
Yuri walked into the kitchenette and opened the fridge a moment before the ship warped. Reality went strange for a nanosecond, the powerful drives playing havoc with the dimensional planes.
Some people suffered bad effects from warps up to the point of having to be sedated. Kei actually enjoyed it, and knew that Yuri did not mind it. Tamikia appeared relaxed enough.
"We've entered the danger zone," Kei drawled.
"Big surprise." Yuri took a seat on the couch and opened the bottle of juice she had taken from the fridge. "Where are your children?"
"Susanne's napping and Catherine is reading a book she picked up."
Yuri nodded and took a drink of her juice.
"What do you think will happen?" Tamikia asked as she took a seat beside Yuri.
"My guess would be a small ship, a corsair probably. Fast and quick. Hijacking a ship is nearly impossible, but getting a small team on board to do a snatch and fade can be done," Yuri told her.
"You can't be sure of that can you?"
"No but it is the most sensible plan. The Dark Lady doesn't have much in the way of arms but its armour is thick and strong. You'd need a battleship to engage it effectively and we can run like hell if we have to. How likely is it Melkar has a fast battleship?"
"What if he does?"
"We could be in a lot of trouble," Kei said cheerfully from across the room where she had been following the conversation. "Could be fun thought, haven't gone head to head with a big ship, except in computer games." She had considered a number of strategies for taking on a much more powerful ship.
"Ignore her," Yuri told Tamikia. "I always do when she starts talking stupid."
"Hardly a nice thing to say Yuri." Kei shook her head slowly.
"What have I gotten myself into?" Tamikia looked to the roof of the cabin.
"Wait and see," Yuri told her.
It was a little more than an hour later that Yuri said, "We may have trouble. I think we should get to the Angel." She got to her feet.
Kei, who had been waiting for something to happen, was almost relieved that it finally had. She put her hand to the laser carbine as her side, taking comfort in its presence.
"What's happening?" Tamikia asked as she went to get Susanne.
"Ship's sensors picked something up on extreme sensor range, then something started jamming us on all frequencies," Yuri told her as she crossed the room, drawing her pistol, to the suite's door. She opened it and looked out into the hall.
Kei gathered up her carry on bag then went to pound on the door of Catherine's room. It was certainly time to be moving. "Let's go," she shouted.
"All clear," Yuri called across the room to Kei.
Catherine came out of her room at almost the same time Tamikia rejoined them, Susanne in her arms.
"I'll lead," Kei said a she rushed out into the hallway, brushing past Yuri. "Stay close."
She opened the door that led out into the public areas of the ship. The security personnel at the door were looking nervous. One was speaking softly into his comlink.
"I need to get into the service tunnels," Kei said.
"Ma'am, I'm not sure that is wise." He looked about, as if to be certain that no one was listening. "We'll probably be sounding the alarm in a few minutes. All passengers will be asked to return to their cabins.
"Good for them," Kei told him. "Now open the way, we've got other plans."
The man looked a little nervous as he looked at her, no doubt taking into account her uniform and the weapon she carried. "As you wish," he said after a moment, and went to do as she had told him.
Susanne began to get scared, and Tamikia had to turn her attention to comforting her daughter. Catherine looked as if she might start bolting at shadows. That meant it was up to Kei and Yuri to watch for ambush.
An alarm went off, sounding general quarters.
"Battle stations," Kei said. "Just like the security guy said."
"For a small ship?" Tamikia asked.
"Probably just a precaution," Kei told her, suspecting her excuse sounded false.
"Might be panic in the main corridors," Yuri called to Kei
"Good thing half of the passengers left."
Before they reached the hold the Lovely Angel was in, Kei called Mughi for a status report.
Yuri opened the door to the hold and dashed across the floor to their ship. She cycled open the airlock and motioned for the rest of them. Kei stayed at the door, covering them until they were all on board then she followed. Unnecessary maybe, but they did it by the book.
Yuri closed the lock after Kei was in then followed her to the cockpit. "I'll make sure Tamikia and the kids are strapped in and then join you in the cockpit," Yuri told Kei.
"Sounds good to me," Kei replied as she continued forward.
She slid into the pilot's chair and brought the Angel out of hibernation mode. She skipped a few safety steps to speed the process up. Nothing new for her really. While the Angel's computer handled the basic tasks of brining the reactor up to full and prepping the thrust plates, Kei turner her attention to the ship's weapons. She put it all in standby mode, ready to go at a moment's notice.
Yuri came into the cockpit and slid into the co-pilot's chair. "Tamikia and the kids are ready to go," she said.
"Good. What's the situation out side the Dark Lady?"
"Give me a second to access the Lady's net," Yuri said as she plugged herself into the Angel's systems. "Still being jammed. We still have short-range coms but only if the signal is overpowered."
"If they could get a message through how long for help to arrive?" Kei grabbed an interface cable and slid it into her datajack.
"Far range patrol frigates might make it in about an hour or so. A high speed gunboat could make it from planet in about two hours."
"On our own then."
"As usual."
"Anything on the Lady's sensors?"
Yuri closed her eyes. "Something is coming up on us. Fast."
"How fast?"
"Military speed fast. Pulling higher Gs than the Lady is capable of."
"Okay then, let's dance." Kei decompressed the docking bay with a thought.
"The ship, as far as I can tell, is coming relative to the Lady's top. We can use the Lady for initial cover."
"Good." Kei was about to open the docking bay doors when the Dark Lady shook. "What was that?"
"Give me a sec, I'll call up the diagnostics." Yuri was quiet for a few seconds. "Oh shit."
"What?"
"Heavy missile barrage; must have launched from maximum range, burned hot, and came in with the jamming as cover. The Dark Lady's CIDS cut in at the last moment. It was a solid hit."
"How bad?"
"Restricted to engines by the looks of things, but the Lady is not going to be outrunning the incoming bogey now."
"Isn't this ship's main defence running like hell?"
"It was."
"Beautiful, I can just see the headlines now." Kei opened the docking doors and the Angel slid out into space.
There was noise behind them. Kei looked over her shoulder to see Tamikia lowering one of the suicide seats. The suicide seats were named so because they offered almost no protection beyond the basic restraint belts. Kei would have told her to return to the ready room and wait with her children, if she thought that Tamikia would have done so.
"Can you keep them from seeing us?" Kei asked Yuri.
"I can certainly try."
"Good enough."
Keeping close to the Dark Lady, Kei brought the Angel up to the Lady's top.
"I can filter out most of their jamming," Yuri said as she worked.
"Good. I'd like to know what we are looking at."
"Mughi's been making improvements," Yuri commented. "I think I got it. Computer is calling the profile out of memory."
"What the hell is that?" Kei asked as she cleared the Dark Lady and the enemy ship appeared on the main visual screen.
"According to the computer, Star Hauler cargo ship. Three kilometres long, low powered, economical engines, heavy shielding with little combat capability."
"Sure. Pull the other one. What is it really?"
"Refitted freighter. Likely armoured all the way to hell. All its arms in pop up turrets. It could go anywhere and no one would raise an eyebrow."
A section of the Dark Lady's armour was blown off right next to them.
"Fuck," Kei yelled as she hit the Angel's thrusters. "Where's safe?"
"Straight at its bow. I suspect it won't be able to depress its guns far enough to target us."
"You suspect. Just wonderful." Kei brought the Angel around in a tight turn and ran straight for the enemy ship. "What's it using anyway?"
"Looks like rail cannons."
"Oh great." Kei increased the power to the Angel's thrust plates.
"How long can the Lady hold out?" Tamikia asked.
"If that thing turns all its weapons onto her, not long. I suspect the reason that they have not done so already is that they think you and the kids are still be aboard," Yuri said.
The Angel shook slightly.
"Now what?" Kei cried.
"Just a graze. Tore some armour off, minor breach in the hull, the repair systems has already sealed it," Yuri read off one of the screens.
"Just a graze she says." Kei began evasive manoeuvres. "We under their guns yet?"
"Probably."
"Good enough. Now it's our turn to shoot back. Claws out." Kei smiled.
"Missiles armed. I'm going for a mixed spread, some high explosive to peel the hull and a group of armour drills with proximity fuses set to go off when they reach the engine."
"Nasty. Use that nuke we've been saving for a rainy day."
"Already done," Yuri said.
"You have nukes?" Tamikia asked.
"Doesn't everyone?" Kei asked.
"No, I mean, they let you two have nuclear weapons?"
"Not funny."
"Who's trying to be funny?"
"Missiles away," Yuri sung out.
The sensor feed marked the missiles with red dots. The three women in the cockpit watched the spread converge on the large ship. The ship disappeared behind a flash of light as the weapons impacted.
"Suck on that you bastards," Kei whispered.
The light faded and died. The huge, enemy ship was still there.
"Mother puss buckets," Yuri said.
"Fuck, fuck and fuck again," Kei yelled.
"Watch your language," Tamikia said, without any real conviction. "What happened?"
"I was wrong, they're armoured all the way to hell and back," Yuri told her. "That much armour, their engines are military all the way to move them."
"You'd have thought that the EMP from the nuke would have done something." Kei looked at the sensor readings.
"Military grade shielding."
"Shouldn't we pull up?" Tamikia asked. One the screen the heavily scarred, but still intact, bow was growing.
"Oh yeah." Kei increased the Angel's angle of climb.
"Keep close to the hull and hope their CIDS can't track us," Yuri told her.
"So how much shielding do you think this beast has on its systems?" Kei dropped the Angel so it was skimming the surface of the other ship.
"Lots."
"Bet you anyone in the hull was killed at least," Kei said.
"Probably, hey is that a high power sensor array?" Yuri pointed at a bulge on the ships back that was covered in sensor antenna.
"Looks like one. Supposedly only available to the UG military." Kei swerved the Angel around a rail gun turret.
"Guess they have some interesting contacts." Yuri targeted the sensor array with several of their rear-mounted lasers and burnt it off the ship.
Kei dropped the Angel down behind the ship, took it out beyond the thruster wash, and then flipped it around and dropped into a trailing pattern.
"Now what?" Yuri asked.
"Could put our remaining missiles up its tail, see if that works."
"Doubt it would do more than slow them a little. We don't have much left in the way of missiles anyways. Just high explosive really."
"I didn't think it would work either," Kei admitted. "Lasers and ballistics probably aren't got to do that much."
"Do we have any weapons that would damage that monster?" Yuri tapped the screen that showed the Star Hauler.
"We would if you hadn't been so set against that spinal mount rail cannon," Kei told her.
"It would have cut our bathroom space by half," Yuri said defensively. "Besides, who'd have thought we would need it. I thought it was just another of those urges for overkill you get."
"It was, but you have to admit it would be useful."
"So would a Hades II class destroyer, and if wishes were weapons we would be all set."
"We'll just have to board them," Kei said.
"Oh joy." The sarcasm was all too evident in Yuri's tone.
"What do you think, one, two hundred to one odds on their ground?" Kei speculated.
"Just the way we want it," Yuri said with blatantly false bravado.
"So how do we get in?"
"Could ask nicely."
"Five hundred meters from the stern, there's a large cargo hatch." Tamikia said.
"What?" Both Kei and Yuri asked, nearly simultaneously.
"I own several Star Haulers. We've done a few conversions like this one. In all of them the cargo hatch is a weak point. The thing is just too damned useful to get rid of, but always too easy to get through."
"Check it out," Kei told Yuri.
Yuri turned to the computer and began calling up information.
"If we go in you'll have to take your kids into one of the attack pods and wait for us. They're small so even if we don't succeed, Melkar will never find you, and you can wait for pick up," Kei told Tamikia.
"No, I'm going with you."
"It will be very dangerous, you could get killed." Kei told her straight. If Tamikia wanted to go with them she would not try to stop her.
"I've taken that risk before."
"Okay, Susanne and Catherine will still go in the pod. Mughi will go with them. Get them in." Kei told Tamikia.
"Back in a minute." Tamikia got up and headed for the ready room.
Kei activated the ship's intercom. "Mughi, get to the ready room. You'll be riding an attack pod out with the kids."
Mughi's growl came from the speaker.
"Excellent," Kei said.
"You know, we have to pull them away from the Dark Lady," Yuri said.
"I know. Thinking of letting them know that Tamikia and the kids are with us?"
Yuri nodded. "We'll overpower a signal and send it to the Dark Lady, telling them we're taking Tamikia and making a run back out of the gravity well."
"We'll send a decoy pod out that way. Hopefully they'll come about to chase it."
"Sounds good," Yuri said as she began to prepare.
Tamikia entered the room and began to unbuckle Susanne.
"What's happening mommy?" Susanne asked.
"Don't worry." Tamikia took the little girl up in her arms. "Come along Catherine." Tamikia left the ready room and went to the launch bay.
Mughi already had one of the pods open and was waiting inside. Tamikia entered and strapped Susanne into one of the seats.
"Mommy's going to leave you for a little while but I'll be back for you," she told her.
"I want to stay with you." Susanne began to cry.
Tamikia pulled a med kit from the wall brackets, opened it and took out a sedative autoinjector. She set the dosage and then pressed it against Susanne's neck. Within seconds her youngest daughter was asleep.
"Do you want one?" She asked Catherine. Catherine was strapping into the seat beside Mughi.
"No," Catherine told her mother.
Tamikia nodded, put the autoinjector back in the kit and the kit back on the wall.
"Here." Tamikia handed Catherine a pistol and the magazines for it. "Use it if you have to."
Tamikia considered telling Catherine what she had once been told, before going on one of her companies black ops; the last bullet is for you. She did not, would not, however. Where there was life, there was hope.
"Take care of them Mughi," Tamikia told the cat. The cat nodded. In his eyes Tamikia was certain she could see understanding. She supposed no matter how alien Mughi was he would likely understand the 'mother/cub' relationship.
The pod's hatch sealed after she left. Tamikia turned around and walked towards the bridge. She heard the servo-clamps push the pod into the launch tube and felt the ship shake as it left the Angel. She wanted to be with her children but knew that it was important she confront Melkar.
Kei met her just outside the cockpit.
"Yuri says we have a good chance of getting in. We're doing it."
"Good."
Kei went back into the cockpit and Tamikia followed her.
"We ready to go?" Kei asked.
"Everything looks good," Yuri told her.
"What's happening with the Dark Lady?" Tamikia asked as she strapped herself into the suicide seat.
"The Star Hauler is chasing after a modified EWAC drone that they think is the Angel. Before the came to they sent a barrage of missiles at the Dark Lady." Kei strapped herself into the pilot's seat.
"How bad was it?"
"They got their CIDS up in time," Yuri said, not looking up from her controls. "Stopped most of the missiles, but took a few solid hits. They look almost dead in space right now. I suspect the Star Hauler is planning to circle back and destroy them once they catch us." She paused and the looked back at Tamikia. "No sign of leaking atmosphere, so I think they are all right."
"They'll never get the chance to circle back and deal with the Dark Lady," Kei said as she hit the Angel's thrust control and took it around the Star Hauler's starboard side. She rotated the Angel ninety degrees to the star hauler so the Angel's bottom was facing the much larger ship.
"Activating adhesion plates, don't hurt the landing gear too much Kei," Yuri said.
"I know what I'm doing, so don't worry. Time to play lamprey." Kei dropped the Angel onto the other ship, hitting the breaking thrusters as the landing gear contacted the other ships hull.
The stop was violently sudden. Tamikia had first hand experience with why suicide seats were named so.
"I know what I'm doing," Yuri mimed Kei. "You almost ripped the landing gear from its housing."
"One, it's not like you could have done better. Two, give me that tone again and I'll slap you. Now come on." Kei undid her restraint harness."
"Are we in any danger from the ship's guns?" Tamikia asked as she freed herself from the seat.
"I doubt that they can depress any of their guns enough to fire at their own hull, so I'll say no," Yuri told her.
"Nice to know."
"Let's go get some party favours," Kei called as she made her way towards the Angel's arms locker.
"After you," Yuri said to Tamikia.
Tamikia nodded and left the cockpit.