"Pitch black. That was one of the many things that people have used to describe the appearance of space. But what was once a desolate, empty void has now been filled with the conquest of many fleets. Pirates, militaries and other organisations fight over who gets more of the endless void to themselves, littering space with violence, war and streaks of plasma bol-. Good morning Sarah! Time for more space adventures!", an abrupt end to the story brought the sleeping beauty to groan in disdain.
Sarah creaked her eyes slowly, only to make out her Exo hovering beside her bed and the low hum of the engine of her suit. Her robotic companion started to greet her loudly in different languages causing the reluctant Sarah to get up from her bed finally.
"Exo, turn on the lights", Sarah said before the lights illuminated the room, causing Sarah to shut in eyes in pain from the sudden change in brightness.
"Ugh.., Exo what's the time", Sarah asked as she slowly opened her eyes, which made the Exo suit spin around before revealing a clock for Sarah to see. '8.30 am..', Sarah thought to herself as she stood up from her bed, ready for a new day to begin.
"What's the status of the crew?", she walked towards the bathroom situated on the right-hand side of her room whilst her Exo suit followed her, giving the captain a detailed report on her previously mentioned request.
"The crew are up and well!", Exo replied as Sarah entered her bathroom, triggering the lights in the bathroom to light up.
It revealed a big, luxurious bathroom; it had two separate counters, one that had a large rectangular mirror, toothbrush, skincare, and oral care products lined neatly in a row. The other had a circular mirror and multiple makeup tools that are arranged similarly with a wardrobe sitting beside her makeup table. Her moderately large shower was encased by glass, separating her large circular bathtub, which seemed too large for just one person.
"The engineers are busy working on repairing the plasma cannons from the previous fight", Sarah walked towards one of her counters; The rectangular mirror showed the reflection of the captain, she donned a crimson nightgown, that highlighted the curves that Sarah had, minus the dishevelled auburn hair and her generally moody expression from waking up.
"Repairs are going smoothly! Over 90% of the damaged cannons are repaired and ammunition is sufficiently replenished!", Exo reported whilst its owner picked up a glass to fill up with water, only to realize that it was already full.
Sarah looked around the counter to find out that her morning products were neatly organised for her use. "All this for me? You shouldn't have, Exo", Sarah bantered with Exo as it stopped reading the report halfway.
"Only the best for my captain", Exo cheerfully said as it saluted with its arms, making Sarah chuckle softly at the sight of her humorous companion.
"Continue", Sarah said as she started to brush her teeth whilst listening to the report.
"The strategists and co-captain are already in the command room, awaiting your presence",
After thoroughly brushing her teeth, Sarah spat out the contents in her mouth before rinsing it with water. Sarah placed her oral wares where her Exo arranged them originally before walking towards the shower, tapping on the console of the shower door allowed her to adjust the shower to her liking.
"Boarders are ready to go, most of their equipment is repaired with only some replacing their entire kit, and budgeting has been taken into account", Sarah reached for the back to remove her nightgown. She felt the zipper on her fingertips before pulling it down to strip away from her nightwear and throwing it into the laundry basket beside the shower.
"That is all for the crew's status, today's mission would be-", Exo was cut off as Sarah's hand was on its arm.
"I don't want to be electrocuted so stay outside", Sarah said, gesturing her Exo to move out of the shower before shutting the door on it. Exo could be heard on the outside playing jazz music as Sarah pressed on the panel inside causing streams of cold water to gush out of the showerhead above her.
Allowing the prickling sensation of the cold water and the distant jazz music player that was her Exo suit to soothe her senses for another long day ahead.
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"The engineers are currently making final checks on our artillery, it will be ready in 15 minutes", a message from the hologram transmitted to the earpiece of the co-captain as the latter almost missed the message amidst all the messages on her computer.
The command room was in a state of organized chaos with many personnel moving in and out of the room, relaying crucial information within the room.
"Looks like my boys and girls are working along nicely", the captain's voice chimed in from behind the co-captain as the latter was too enamoured with her work to focus on the voice behind her.
"Isn't that right? Fukayna?", Sarah grinned at her co-captain, garnering a response from her.
"You're 10 minutes late Captain Fortune", Fukayna pointed out the tardiness of her captain.
"Well, I've got some morning businesses to take care of. Besides, Exo already briefed me on the mission today", Sarah reasoned with her co-captain as the Exo suit hovered behind Sarah.
Fukayna peeked at her captain, who was now looking at the spaced-out command stations that were in front of her, admiring the work of her hard-working peers.
"It's about some distress signal, anyone willing to help will be paid hefty", Sarah reiterated the information learnt about the mission from her Exo to Fukayna.
"That's right. The sum seems too big to be true, especially for such a straight-forward request", Fukayna speculated as she continued typing on the keyboard, which made Sarah look over to her co-captain.
"Hm, did my co-captain find something interesting for me?", Sarah prodded, making the occupied Fukayna stop typing momentarily and turned to face her captain.
"It's from Gangplank's crew"
Sarah's usual carefree, playful attitude disappeared the moment Fukayna uttered that name.
"And we're going to help those scumbags?", Sarah swore.
"We might find clues on the whereabouts of Gangplank", Fukayna added which made Sarah furrow her brows. The latter was still not convinced of the reasons that Fukayna would accept such an offer, knowing that her captain held a lifelong grudge against Gangplank's crew.
A beep drew Sarah's attention towards her desktop, showing a video transmission from Fukayna.
Sarah glanced at Fukayna for a second before tapping on her screen. The video showed footage of Gangplank's goons fighting against a mysterious figure, cracks of plasma rifles and the white plasma bolts of anti-void rounds filling the screen.
Before a massive swarm of purple void bolts homed towards the pirates, swiftly dispatching them before the beast started engaging the enemy in close quarters. Slicing through the pirates' thick duranium armour effortlessly as it danced between the gunfire of the pirates.
"What is that?", Sarah questioned Fukayna.
"I have an idea of what it might be, but if it were true, we won't make it in time to rescue…", Fukayna paused as she observed the change in Sarah's expression. The captain's face morphed from confusion to being intrigued and eventually, enthusiastic. Sarah grinned at the contents of the video, her enthusiasm growing each time she saw the beast toy with the Gangplank's subordinates.
Fukayna chose not to complete her sentence as she went back to work, aware of the next few actions of her captain.
"Well, looks like today isn't going to be that bad after all", Sarah smirked before pressing something on her keyboard, causing every screen in the room to be overridden by her face. Sarah's face was broadcasted to every corner of the ship, drawing the attention of the crew.
"Listen up! Today's mission is an easy one! Afterwards, drinks on me!", Sarah announced. The crew burst into excitement as the ship seemed to shake from the enthusiasm of the entire crew.
"Our next destination!", Sarah grinned. The ship shuddered, its engines coming to life with its crew.
"Is Shurima!", the captain concluded before the engines propelled the ship forward, racing it rapidly towards its desired destination.
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Author's Notes: To all my old followers, please re-read the entire story as it is a complete overhaul.
To all of my new followers, carry on as intended.
A longer author's notes in chapter 3.
