A Ship and her Captain : An Isekai Story

by The Imperator 2 you

A Man working part time as a drink runner, finds himself reincarnated into the world of his space game after saving the life of a little girl from a train collision. A fan of nintendo games, he nicknamed his ship, Great Fox, and now finds himself as her captain. Gathering a crew of loyal friends and even love interests, what kind of life will he live in this new world?

1. Chapter 1

[Ship's Log: Entry; P.V 1.78.554]

[Captain has taken a request to transport a delivery of biological fruits and vegetables as well as fuel and water canisters to the Belga Sector, fifth planet in the system. The pay will add about one hundred thousand MPC to his account. Pay output is 'minimal' with past jobs taken into consideration, however, Captain has stated, "An easy job is sometimes a better job from time to time, regardless of pay".]

[Captain stated, he didn't want to fight other 'Captains' attempting to raid him or deal with overly aggressive and overly numerous pirate attacks that week. He then muttered something about 'Work being hell that week' and how he just wanted to fulfill an easy quest for a reward. It was... unusual, hearing this from him. Given our current financial situation is in the light green, there is no 'reason' to not do this 'easy-going mission' as he called it. But he is my Captain, and as such this is my duty to carry it out.]

[Our mission parameters state that this will take approximately three days travel through the system to our destination from the sixth planet, where we picked up the supplies, to our destination. After departing the planet once we cleared the Planetary Port Authorities, we began our destination in 'Low Profile' Mode.]

[While we could have completed the journey in less than a day, Captain requested we move in 'Low Profile' mode, and therefore extend the time we take to complete the mission parameters. While I would have moved at full speed to complete the mission quickly, Captain... is my Captain, and as such I will do as he wishes. In 'Low Profile Mode', at least we will not draw unwanted attention, and our speed will not attract potential raids while in transit, as he wished.]

[Captain switched me to Autopilot Mode, and I cleared the Planetary Port Authority, he has muttered about 'going to work' and saying he will be back later to complete the mission. While I do not understand the words, I could only wish him... pleasant dreams... while I continued in Autopilot Mode.]

[End of Log...]

.

.

My first ever attempt at, an Isekai Story...

=Chapter 1 – A Captain named Arthur and his Beloved Ship Great Fox=

=The ship I lovingly spent years fine tuning in an Online Game and working to pay for upgrades reincarnated me after I saved a Young Girl's life=

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Arthur yawned as he finished his morning ritual in the bathroom, brushing his teeth while combing his hair, already feeling tired despite the fact that today was going to be a late game, he just hated his life and how he had to work today. Today was going to be hot, he knew it, he was going to be running drinks that made him constantly question himself and his restraint, and the people he was serving to would be ungrateful lots, most of them.

"Okay maybe that's an exaggeration... but if they can afford to pay like... sixty or seventy bucks a 'day' per seat all season and then spend like a hundred on food and beer, they could at least tip out more... one dollar, you really think 'one' flipping dollar will make me sweating up a storm and enduring the heat while running up steep steps in full uniform... while they're chilling with cold beers, sodas... in chairs, not even watching the game but are watching like 'football' or something else... make my day?" He muttered bitterly as he got his uniform on. "Hooray for below minimum wage... 'Another day another dollar' as they say."

He finished changing into his uniform and went to his bedroom to get his things, keys, ID, card and phone. As he did, he noticed that his computer was still on, and smiled as he was glad to see that while he changed, the Planetary Port Authority had cleared his ship for departure and the autopilot feature was in full action.

The game he was playing during his time 'before' he had to work that day was a game called Horizon Star, a massive multiplayer online space simulator game with ships, planets, asteroids, stations, moons and all the bells and whistles that a 'space game' would have. The game was over fifteen years old, and he had been an avid player since 'day one'. He had started out playing it when it was early access, bugs and all because back in the day as a teenager he always dreamed of going to space.

He had played for hours, days on end, it was practically his life. Sure, he played other games, he owned a Nintendo Switch, had an N64, a Gameboy, Gamecube, etc etc, played various Nintendo games while 'also' playing Horizon Star, but it was Horizon Star that truly captured his attention.

The ship he was currently playing was a long time ship he had been using for almost fourteen years. During his first year he swapped from ship to ship, working and grinding, selling all the way until he purchased his, at the time, 'dream ship'. An enormous Intergalactic Transport Battleship model. The vessel was custom designed, after various patches allowed players to 'customize' their ships for a hefty fee, allowing them to alter the ship's exterior design to a special model unique to them alone. The ship itself had originally been a cargo vessel, but after years and years of playing, it was so heavily modified it was on the level of intergalactic battleships used by the navy, with powerful planetary station level shielding, battleship cannons and anti-fighter guns found on corvettes, while still functioning as a massive cargo runner. It also carried a set of fighters he would use sometimes in large fleet actions for epic pvp battles he'd christened 'Arwings', so as to not risk his precious Great Fox. As for the name, he called his ship 'Great Fox', because he was a Star Fox fan, and he always pretended as a kid that he was captain of 'The Great Fox' from Star Fox.

His dream ship, for what he assumed would be a dream job for him...

Unfortunately, his dreams of being an astronaut went... well as far as the game sadly, and just like so many in their teenaged years, he found himself 'not' living the dream life they once envisioned, but the practical life of 'two jobs' working part time at a baseball park and at a football stadium at the most desired and exalted position of Beverage Runner.

But at least it allowed him to live, pay for rent, electricity, heating, water, and more importantly 'internet' so he could play his game. He made enough of the 'in game currency' to pay for his monthly subscription fee. He had already paid his fee that month, and was stockpiling for next month, hence why he was doing the job of 'Delivering Planetary Supplies' from Belga Seis to Belga Cinco. The plan was simple, he'd tell his ship to go into Low Profile mode, set it to Autopilot, and while he was at work his ship, Great Fox, would travel at low speed to the destination. The prospect of pirate attack was 'very low', exact probability was like 6.7 percent, so there was very little chance his ship would be attacked while he was working at the park.

When he came back, he'd hop back on and just 'chill' for the rest of the day, maybe contacting one of his friends to talk about their day while his ship continued on its way.

"Alright, time to go to work, I'll be back later my wonderful Great Fox to complete the mission."

He clicked the 'Log Out' command and as usual, the game said, 'Pleasant Dreams Captain', before he exited out of the game. With that he shut the computer down, moaned about work, and hoped today would go quickly so he could come back home to his game.

As usual he headed to the train station upon leaving his apartment building, mentally picturing a bingo card of what he'd encounter today.

As he walked, he had the chance to catch himself in the side mirror of a car and smiled a little sadly at himself. He had been going on a diet and working out a bit more recently because his figure had been 'unpleasant' to himself. His cheeks had started to thin out, and his chin had lost the 'double' he'd been seeing pop up more frequently. His stomach had flattened... and he could even see a bit of muscle in his arms... at least a 'little', not much but it made him smile. Perhaps his life wasn't getting better but at least his body was showing improvement. Otherwise, he still had his dark hair, his pale-white skin, hazel eyes, and his thirty-first birthday to look forward to.

"Yep, at least I know I'll make it to my next birthday." He muttered as he walked on to the train station, already feeling the heat from the day. "Ninety-eight' degrees today but it feels like one hundred and six. Why do people 'enjoy' going to a baseball game on days like this, why can't they have this sport during cooler months?"

Walking to the station was torturous, having to wear his uniform all the way there in the baking sun, and the only relief coming from the AC of the train which would be 'crammed' with people who are 'also' heading to the ballpark and wherever else they were going. That means the ac wouldn't be as 'good', and he'd be in a roughly mild warm environment instead of a nice cool one.

And of course he'd be on a train during the rush hours, meaning people were pouring out to use it...

He'd see teenagers out of school looking to hang out with friends, other teenaged 'adults' smoking weed or pot or whatever else while riding the train because they have nothing better to do with their friends. There was always that 'one' old church lady who'd randomly say something like 'he loves you' etc at the most 'random' moment with nobody asking her to and nobody wanting her to. He'd have to step aside as every train seemed to always have that guy walking between each car going "squares, squares", ignoring the clear warning signs saying, 'don't cross unless it's an emergency'. There was also one punk reeking of weed playing whatever racial slur or curse word filled rap song as 'loud' as they could over a radio. And who could forget that one impatient passenger who, as 'soon' as the train enters the station, instantly pulls the 'emergency release' to force the door to open so he can exit faster, and there's never a cop or security around to punish them.

"Well maybe today will be 'better'." He muttered as he continued his walk, going down the street.

As he approached the station, he could already see how crowded it looked on one end and on the other end, making him 'sigh' as 'of course' people would flock to those sides of the train. Those were the sides where the doors 'from' the station led to the streets or stairs of the station, so everyone just wanted to get on the train as fast as possible.

"Just get through the day." He muttered to himself as he paid the fee to get on the train, and then went on down to the platform.

He walked, twisted, turned and pushed his way through the crowded section of the platform to around the middle where people weren't as numerous, but there weren't any seats for people to sit on. Or in actuality, what 'few' chairs there were, were already taken by people's bags or luggage.

"Just 'one' chair on a day like this, give me 'one' seat... is all I'm asking." He moaned to himself as he waited for the train to arrive, seeing the timer say 'two minutes' but from the other direction while the one he was going to take would be there in ten minutes.

As he waited, he could hear from just behind a pair of people arguing and yelling at one another. Looking over he glanced to see it was a family of three, an older man who looked to be fighting with his wife, or 'girlfriend', depending on how they were treating each other, while beside them a little girl pretended to ignore them by playing around with a toy doll. He couldn't make out the conversation because he wasn't interested, but it seemed the 'dad' was spending money they didn't have and he was the definition of a deadbeat dad, spending more time drinking with his co-workers then spending time with his family.

"Whatever..." Was all he could say, he wasn't exactly a shining example of a 'potential father' in reality either.

He worked two boring jobs he hated so he could afford to live in an apartment whose rent just kept going up every year 'while' spending his free time playing games. He's not exactly someone who can say he's a 'great' person himself.

"Hey, watch it will you!" Someone shouted as he could hear rap music over the commotion.

"Shuuuutuuuuup." They responded in typical lowlife punk style.

"Turn off that music, it's too effing loud and there are CHILDREN here!"

"Oh well, too bad they aint my kids!"

"Have some human 'decency' why don't you?"

He sighed as he tried to tune everything out, 'Just a few more minutes, get on the train and then get through the day' he told himself. That was until moments later, apparently an argument broke out between the guy playing his loud rap music, and someone else. Moments later they started shouting and then making gestures to push and shove at one another, and then the first 'punch' was thrown. People started trying to get away, someone tried to break up the fight, but through it all he noticed something more important that nobody's eyes were drawn too...

Until it was 'too late'.

One person who was backing away had been forced by other people and forcing people behind her... had accidentally knocked the family back... but in the rush to get away from the two idiots fighting... the little girl of the family of three, was 'knocked back' ever so slightly, enough to trip over her own feet and backwards... 'onto' the rails of the train track.

And he could hear the sounds of the train rolling down the track in the distance.

Nobody noticed the little girl, not even her family... at least not yet, but they noticed when 'he' ran on instinct. Call it 'instinct to save a young girl's life', or whatever, but nobody else had seen the girl fall onto the train tracks and nobody else was reacting until he shoved 'through' the people and onto the tracks himself.

The little girl was still a little stunned as he lifted her up, and with all his strength, flung her up and back onto the platform, right into the arms of her now 'terrified' mother and father who 'finally' noticed what had happened, and had tried to rush to help. But for him...

BREEEEEEEEEEEEE-

He only heard the sound of the train siren, turned to see a rush of metal steel, hear the heavy rusted iron wheels, the 'screech' of emergency brakes trying to stop the train in time...

His last conscious thought at that moment... was, 'Sorry Great Fox... I won't be seeing you later...'

Before everything went... white... in a flash of light.

All was silent, all was nothing, he wasn't sure what happened to him, what had become of him, all he knew was that he was still at least a 'little' conscious of himself being dead or something.

'So... that's how it ends huh?' He thought quietly. 'I save a little girl's life... and my reward is a quick and painless death... guess I can't ask for anything better... I was just a nobody, working at two part time jobs. At least now I die a hero. Wish I could have lasted longer, wish I could have played my game just one more time... or at least, told my password to a player who can take care of my ship for me.'

[Captain...]

He heard a voice, a weird, gentle, robotic voice in his head. It almost sounded 'heavenly' compared to the thrum of yelling voices he'd last heard on the train station before he went and saved that little girl. But when he heard that voice, it was as if new sensations started sounding, he could 'feel' a strange cool liquid over his skin, gently coating and wrapping around every part of his body, from his head to his feet. As he tried to breathe, he found that he couldn't exactly 'breathe' through his nose.

At least not how he normally would breathe, the liquid that was coating his body included his nostrils, but when his nose tried to breathe in air for the precious oxygen his body needed, the liquid formed a semi-solid barrier preventing anything from entering. Yet it also 'gave' him air, he could feel it going through his nose, but he couldn't 'feel' the air, it was a very strange sensation.

[Captain...] That voice said again, almost humming the word. [Wake up captain...]

A part of him didn't want to wake up, he was so comfortable, the cool liquid was almost 'heaven' compared to how hot the train platform was and how hot the stadium would be. Every part of him he felt was being massaged in this wonderful cool liquid that just gave him... weird sensations of memory. If he had to describe it, it was like... almost like, being in the womb of his mother.

[Captain... wake up... I cannot function without you Captain.] That voice again hummed.

Unable to resist that voice urging him to wake up and feeling his own eyelids twitching to open and let him see again, he slowly opened his eyes. Everything was very, very different to what he was expecting. Everything was a strange blue color, and it was as if he were encased in a strange cylindrical pod. The liquid he noticed made everything a little fuzzy as he was not used to seeing underwater or suspended in liquid.

However, as his brain began to catch up to what his eyes were seeing, he suddenly began panicking as if he was in some kind of science fiction novel or movie, as outside of his pod he could see other pods each about eight or nine feet tall. The room he could see was a smooth whitish steel with a large green cross encased in the emblem of a Fox Head imprinted on the side of a wall. This same combination of symbols was also imprinted on each of the pods. Everything was too weird, too freaky, too 'impossible' to be real that he was having flashbacks to that 'Matrix' movie and started having a slight panic attack.

He tried picking his arms up to push the pod open, but there wasn't much room, he couldn't even bend his arms in a way to give him some leverage.

[Vital signs normal... Captain please relax, the pod cannot release you until you are relaxed.]

How could he relax, he was trapped, suspended in liquid, he couldn't move, and a weird voice however 'pleasant' it sounded or gentle it sounded was telling him to 'relax'? He didn't even know how he was able to breathe completely suspended in whatever this cool water was, moments ago he last remembered saving a little girl from a train collision and took her place instead. Now he's... wherever he is?

[Captain, please relax, the pod is not going to hurt you, the all-purpose recovery fluid has restored your vitality and body to its optimal levels. But the restoration pod cannot release you until you calm down.] The voice said, again in a very calm and gentle tone. [Captain, please... relax... I assure you, if you relax the pod will commence draining procedures and then release you.]

Well, he had nothing to lose by listening to the strange voice, and so after a few moments he began to stop struggling, and slowly took deep breaths to force his body to calm down. Eventually his heart began to slow its pace, his lungs could feel fresh oxygen coming in, and as his eyes closed, he eased himself down from his terrified state of mind.

[All signs normal, beginning draining procedures.]

A large hum filled the pod, and he felt a huge suction from below him, glancing down he could see a miniature vortex appearing below him as he felt the fluid being pulled. At first, he was afraid of being pulled as well, but he again, forced himself to calm down. The liquid was the only thing being pulled, he told himself. Sure enough, he could feel the fluid being drained beneath his feet, and as seconds went by, he could physically see it drain around him. First his eyes, then his nose which 'finally' breathed naturally in what felt like ages, and then his chest. Eventually it was all drained and the pod's lid opened for him.

[Welcome back Captain.]

He slowly stepped out of the pod, using it as leverage to help him stand as his legs were getting used to standing, having been floating for... however long he was in that weird pod. But as he stepped out, he noticed that suddenly everything was 'very' cold, as he saw that he was naked. More importantly he noticed that the fluid that he'd been dripping had almost dried and evaporated from his skin, leaving him feeling the very cold air of the room's air conditioning.

[Your uniform is waiting for you Captain.]

He looked around and saw hanging from the side of the pod was a set of clothes for him, what looked to be a bluish uniform with tints of red and even a large badge on the shoulder with a star peaking over the horizon as its emblem. Feeling the cold again, resulting in him shivering, he quickly started taking the clothes to put them on. He was surprised that not only was the 'uniform' a perfect fit for him, but it also included all he needed, socks, undergarments, pants, shirt, a light vest and even shoes.

Once he was in his uniform, he looked at his own reflection in the glass of the pod he'd exited and was surprised to see 'himself'. He almost looked like a completely different person with his new clothes on, he looked like a captain of an intergalactic space fairing ship, and not some guy on his way to a baseball park to spend hours running beers to fans.

"Uh... uh, voice... whoever was talking to me before, are you there?"

[Yes Captain.]

He looked around the room but saw nothing that looked like a person, or entity or 'something' that was talking to him out of a speaker or so. It was as if the voice just 'came' from around the room. Though he did notice out of the corner of his eyes, a single camera with a red blinking light looking directly at him.

"Uh, where exactly, am I?"

[You are in the Restoration Pod Bay.] The voice replied instantly.

Something about 'Restoration Pod Bay' struck a chord, it sounded very familiar, but he was still confused. "I mean, 'where' am I, like where am I? Where is this, restoration pod bay located?"

[You are in the medical section, specifically the Restoration Pod Bay, located in the medical section.] The voice 'again' replied in its 'matter of fact' tone.

He rolled his eyes as that didn't exactly answer his question, but he shook his head and said, "Alright, in the 'simplest' of terms possible, where am I. Like, where is this bay, this medical section, everything else I'm around here... located?"

There was a brief moment of silence before the voice replied, [You are onboard the Great Fox, Captain. Where 'else' would you be?] It said, though this time in a 'surprised' tone. [Were you expecting to be rescue-transported to another ship Captain?]

'Great Fox' he thought in 'shock', at the words of the name of his ship from the game Horizon Star, he looked around and went to the door out of the bay into the sleek and long hallway or corridor of the metal interior of whatever structure he was in. But he saw multiple doors lining the hallway, each spaced out at random intervals and each with labels like 'Medical Laboratory' and 'Specimen Containment' as well as 'Chemical Storage Bay 3'.

The instant he walked into the hallway; the lights turned on.

"Window... where's a window?"

[Locating the Nearest Window, please follow the red line.] The voice said, and along the wall to his right a red line lit up.

A 'little' concerned he followed the line, exiting out of the corridor, entering another corridor, up a flight of stairs and then to the window built into the side of the wall of the steel interior. He ran over and stared... at 'space', endless, empty, vast space. He could see the faint background of a vast swirling light blue nebula with streaks of gold and yellow, orange and greens contrasting the vast blue color, and distant sparks of light signifying stars the likes of which he never saw except in pictures of the Milkyway galaxy. Outside he could see little particles of space rocks just floating by off in the distance, and as he turned, he could see the 'rest' of the ship, or at least most of it. It just kept going.

"Wait... this is... I recognize this space; this is the space between Belga Cinco and Belga Seis."

[Correct Captain, our course has not changed since you last input it into the autopilot. We are still on schedule to arrive at Belga Cinco in two days. Cargo remains in pristine condition, no changes detected in the temperate environmental conditions required for botanical food supply and storage units. We are still traveling in Low Profile mode, per your instruction.]

"But... that's... this is the..." He muttered as he stepped back and fell to the floor, his hands holding his head to try and comprehend what it was he was trying to understand.

It all was so fast, everything changed so suddenly, everything was just so out of this world. That morning, he had woken up, spent a few hours playing his game, planning to spend time after work just 'chilling' on a nice easy mission with his precious and probably most loved ship 'Great Fox' before going to bed. Then he saves a little girl about to be run over by a train, taking her place instead and... died.

Only instead of dying and going to some, great wonderful afterlife, or a brutish hellscape of eternal torment, or even just 'nothingness'... he finds himself awake with his body intact as he was... aboard his ship, on the same mission he sent her on before leaving for work?

Wait, was this 'really' Great Fox?

"A schematic... I need to see a schematic." He yelled as he stood up, needing to be sure. "Can you... whoever you are show me what 'Great Fox' looks like?"

[Of course, Captain.]

And on a nearby screen embedded into the wall, a 3D version of the ship appeared for him to inspect. He stepped closer and just stared, as he could see every tiny detail of the ship 'exactly' as he remembered it. Everything, every tiny detail was exactly as he remembered it.

Great Fox was about seven hundred and fifty meters long, two hundred and fifty meters wide, and one hundred and seventy meters tall, with a narrow forward mounting portion with a bulging middle and rear section. The front or 'head' of the ship was shaped like an animal, a fox head to be precise, and at the rear near the engines were six wing-like extensions that started around the mid-section to the rear nearest the engines, each tipped with highly specialized sensor rods meant to act as scanning extensions. Along the sides were powerful shield generators shaped like oversized AA-batteries, six on each side for a total of twelve. The ship was a gleaming silver steel of reinforced deurotanium plating, utterly beautiful if it were viewed with the Nebula in the farthest distance in the background. The ship itself resembled a fox; its legs tucked in as if it were flying while in Low Profile Mode. He also saw several slots along the middle section by the shield generators that when he touched, revealed the various fighters that he'd renamed as 'Arwings', in standby mode awaiting pilots before launching even in Low Profile Mode.

"It's... really Great Fox, it's exactly as I remember." He whispered as he stared at every little detail the schematics offered, even the image of what the ship looked like when it entered 'High Profile Mode'.

But that just left one detail open to him.

"Are you still there voice?" He asked.

[Of course, Captain.]

"How many people are on this ship?"

[One.]

"Wait, one... 'one' person can't possibly run this entire ship!"

[Yes Captain, which is why all systems are automated by a Ship AI. All areas of this vessel are directly controlled from the bridge by automation, which in turn is controlled by the Captain of the Ship.]

At that he got confused, if 'he' was the captain then who was the voice, if he was the 'only' person on board the ship then who was talking to him?

"Uh... who are you then if I'm the only person on board?"

[I am the artificial intelligence that operates and resides within the central data core of the ship. I am 'Great Fox'.]

Wait, the 'ship' was talking to him? Or at least the AI of the ship was the one talking to him, and it referred to itself as 'Great Fox'? "But I thought, I thought that the ship was named Great Fox?"

[The ship is named Great Fox, you are correct, as such, you are also correct in that 'I' am Great Fox. You named the ship Great Fox when you made the purchase of my original hull. From that moment forth, I have been named Great Fox.]

"I-I see..." He whispered as he took a seat on the floor, comprehension still struggling to catch up to his brain. "So... you're the only other... entity, on board the ship besides me then?"

[Correct Captain.]

He just sat there, in silence, listening to the sound of 'silence' of the empty ship as it continued to travel through space. Other than his own breathing, the only other sound was the hum of the ship's engines in the deep distance and the sounds of the air seemingly breathing life into the atmosphere around him.

[Captain... is something wrong?]

He was just quiet as he looked up, and saw out of the corner of his eye, a camera looking at him. It seemed the ship was watching him constantly, not taking its eye off him. But, if everything was as it seemed to be, how did he get here, how is this possible... is this some kind of 'afterlife fantasy' or some kind of weird moment where his brain created a new lifestyle for him to live in his final moment before the end truly came. Was he in fact, still in the real world, about to be hit by a train and this was just some kind of 'life flashing before his eyes' moment his conscious self was experiencing before death truly came for him. Was it just a desperate last gasp to keep going before it all came to an end?

"How... how did I... get here?" He asked it. "How did I wind up in the medical bay?"

[I do not know... all that I am aware of is that hours ago, I suddenly detected your life signs rapidly declining. My systems activated, and I initiated an instantaneous emergency teleportation procedure and placed you in the confines of the first active Vitality Restoration Pod for immediate recovery and stabilization of your life signs.]

"Well, how did that happen, where was I before I was... 'respawned' or... so?" He asked. "Don't you keep records or something?"

[Negative, records were not kept. I deeply apologize, but once I wished you 'Pleasant Dreams Captain', I reduced activity to save on power output while systems continued in Autopilot Mode per your instructions. However, upon activating, and triggering the procedure, the pod made notes of massive physical trauma to your body consistent with that of collision with a very fast and heavy moving object with a relatively still object. It is... unknown as to 'how' you were damaged in such a way, but the restoration pod restored your body to a previously healthy state once you were put in. But rest assured, I have been monitoring you ever since for your safety...]

He thought about that, a 'sudden collision of a very fast and heavy moving object, with a relatively still object', sounded very much like a train accident without using the words 'train accident'. If Great Fox didn't know about a possible train accident, maybe... maybe something 'happened' that caused him to be 'revived' or 'reincarnated' in the game world. Maybe the Great Fox 'sensed' his life about to end, and saved him at the last moment. "Do I... have a second chance at life?" He asked as he looked at his hand and flexed it.

He pinched himself to see if he felt pain and sure enough, it felt real to his body and brain. This was about as 'real' as real could get.

[You need not worry about potential prospect of death Captain. I have a permanent lock onto your biosignature. If at any point your vital signs indicate a dangerous level, I will immediately initiate an emergency transportation procedure to place you into a Vitality Restoration Pod. Unless the ship is destroyed, you will not die.]

He looked at the camera and just stared at it, the little red light indicating the ship was watching him. "Just... out of curiosity, do you know my name?"

[That is a very 'strange' question... of course I know you, 'Captain Arthur'. You have been my captain for the past fifteen years. You have purchased and installed multiple upgrades and various modular attachments to improve my functionality as your ship. You... are my Captain.]

The way it talked to him touched him deeply on various emotional levels. First when it stated his question was 'strange', it sounded confused, as if his very question was a ridiculous one that never needed to be asked. When it addressed him as 'Captain Arthur', it spoke in a very proud tone, as if the mere 'mention' of his title as its Captain was worthy of a parade. When it talked about how long they've been together, it had a gentle almost loving tone, as if the ship were recounting many fond memories that it deeply enjoyed. The final declaration saying, 'he' was its captain, was again one of deep pride.

"So... I am your captain, and 'you' are my ship, Great Fox?" He asked the camera.

[You are my Captain, and I am your ship, the Great Fox.] It stated warmly.

There was silence as they just stared at each other, his heart beating slowly as his new reality sank into his thinking while he listened to the heartbeat of the ship... if you can call the hum of air being filtered around the corridor a 'heartbeat'.

*Brngnngmgn*

Suddenly the whole ship shook ever so slightly, enough though for him jump to full alertness. He looked around the outside of the window trying to see if something was going on, trying to see if they were under attack, but no the ship was still moving as usual without anything weird being visible to him through the window.

"What was that, are we under attack or-" He yelled in panic as instinct kicked in, suddenly becoming very protective of his ship that he was on.

[Do not be alarmed Captain, that was only a Q-Class asteroid hitting the forward shields and then bouncing off.] The ship replied in a matter of fact tone.

"Q-Class, how dangerous is it, is it big, is the ship damaged or-"

[Negative, shields are not damaged, at our speed the asteroid merely bounced off the shields. Hull integrity is unaffected. Our course has not been adjusted. As for the 'dangers' of a Q-Class asteroid, it is only a small asteroid type of 11 meters. It would have done more damage to our shields had we been moving at maximum speeds then it could have done to our hull at our current speed. The asteroid was deflected by the shields and will be passing by the window near you shortly... if you wish to observe it that is.]

He went over to the window when she told him that and waited until the asteroid appeared, as he'd never seen an 'actual' asteroid. The closest was in the game, but after a few moments he watched as a small darkish 'rock' floated by, lit up by the various lights emanating from the ship. It looked... like a potato, a very 'large' potato. It just was floating in space, rotating now since it was knocked away by the shields of the ship.

"Wow..." He muttered as he just watched it floating away. "It's a real asteroid."

As it slowly vanished into the black void of space, he suddenly had a realization. "Wait... how come you didn't warn me or say something about the asteroid until 'after' it collided with the shields?" He asked the ship, turning to the camera which was, unsurprisingly, still watching him. "Shouldn't you have been aware that an asteroid was in our path, even if the autopilot saw no reason to change course, why didn't you tell me about the asteroid 'before' it hit?"

[I apologize Captain... however, while in Low Profile Mode, ninety percent of my systems shut down to conserve power. Shield strength is reduced to minimal levels, weapons systems are shut off, and external sensors are reduced to minimal levels so as to minimize how much power and fuel is used during our voyage. I am afraid I can only detect about two hundred meters in any direction of my current location, otherwise my maximum range is one million, nine hundred thousand kilometers. While I detected the asteroid, between our speed and its speed I only had about five seconds potentially to warn you before we collided. Furthermore, you were not asking me to report you of potential collisions with inter-planetary bodies such as asteroids, I will inform you of any further entities we may collide with if you wish.]

"N-Nono it's alright... I was just curious is all, I don't blame you at all." He said as he was afraid to 'upset' his ship over something it didn't really have much say over.

It wasn't the ship's fault that it was in all practicality blind, it was running in Low Profile Mode so as to not draw attention and reduce the risk of potential pirate attacks. That was 'why' he told it to do that when he left for work...

"Well... since I'm here now... how long until we uh... 'reach' our destination?"

[We still have approximately two days left in our voyage.] The ship informed him.

"I see... uh, I know this may be an 'odd' question but... is there something here that I can eat." He said. "I know we took on food cargo but, obviously I don't want to eat that since we have to deliver it. Is there somewhere on the ship I can go to make something to eat or..."

[If you follow the blue line Captain, I will lead you to the mess hall where I can prepare food for you.] Great Fox told him, and instantly the wall had a blue line appear for him to follow.

So, he followed the line, wanting to get something to eat so he could help settle himself in his new reality, whatever it was. The ship was enormous and it took him over 'ten' minutes of walking before he reached the mess hall. It was very empty, and the lights only turned on when the door opened and he walked in, revealing what looked like a high school cafeteria with plain white walls, light blue flooring and square ceiling lights. The tables were basic bland square tables, bolted down with large blocky posts holding up the table itself, with the image of a fork and spoon and knife, with the outline of a fox head, similar to what he saw in the medical bay. Even the chairs had the insignia of food and fox-head outline.

"I guess everything has Great Fox's emblem as an outline on board the ship." He muttered as he took a seat.

[What would you like to eat Captain?] The ship asked, and again he saw, juuuust out of the corner of his eye another camera embedded into the corner of the room staring at him.

"Uh... out of curiosity, do you have cameras 'everywhere'?" He asked.

[Yes Captain, I observe everything for you, as you 'are' my Captain and therefore should be alerted to anything of importance while aboard the ship. But there are 'some' rooms I do not have visual access to.]

He nodded, it made sense, even if it 'was' a little creepy that the ship was watching his every movement.

"Alright... what is there to eat?"

[That depends on what you want to eat, while my capabilities to provide various meals are limited to whatever is in the database, I can provide any meal if you provide enough details or a description of what you want to eat.]

"Anything?" He asked.

[Anything Captain.] The ship replied instantly.

"Alright... well let's put it to the test then... uhm, I want a Well-Done beef steak with some steamed broccoli, and a side order of rice." He said as he thought about drinks. "Can I also have a glass of light ice water?"

[One moment Captain.]

He did a double take as he was 'not' expecting the ship to instantly know what his order was, he just said it because this was the game world, and he didn't expect 'that' to be a potential food order. But after listening to the hum of the ship, staring at the center of the table for a few minutes, he watched as the center of the table had a circular disk slide to the side, revealing a hole built into the pole of the table. From that hole a miniature platform rose up with a large plate, which through the layers of food planted on it, he could see was the food insignia of the room with the Great Fox emblem. It even had the utensils placed next to it for him to use. But as for the food itself, it looked exactly like he ordered, a seven-inch well-done steak, several steamed broccolis, and a small serving of cooked white rice. Next to the food was also a cup that looked like it could hold twelve ounces filled with water, and also had about small six ice cubes in it.

It looked truly appetizing.

[Enjoy Captain.]

Well, not one to 'reject' something someone made for him, he picked up the knife and fork and started cutting into the steak. However, he noticed that as he cut into the food that there was no trace 'blood' that he normally saw whenever 'he' cooked steak, even cooked blood residue from various spices. Yet he wasn't really thinking about that as he took the slice and ate into it hungrily, feeling hungry as his stomach growled in need.

His first bite was... 'bland'. It wasn't that the steak had zero taste, it was... just off. He took some more chewing and eventually realized that the steak wasn't really 'steak' that he knew of it as. It felt... or tasted like... something that made his taste buds tell him that it was ever so 'off'. If he had to describe the steak, it tasted like one of those weird 'plant-based substitute meat' foods that he would often see in ads. After eating a bit of the steak, he took a bite of the broccoli, but just like with the steak it tasted, both like and yet 'not' like broccoli. Even the rice he ate, it just tasted 'wrong', not wrong as in it was bad but wrong as in it was just 'off', like it wasn't rice.

"What kind of... food is this?" He asked nervously. "It tastes a little... odd."

[This is standard synthetic space food, imbued with various proteins, minerals, and other synthetic compounds to replicate the taste and flavor of the food you requested.] The ship replied.

"Synthetic food... of 'course' it would be synthetic food..." He muttered as he took another bite and his taste buds again complained that something was 'off' about what he was eating. "I uh, don't suppose we have 'normal' food to eat, as in real meat and vegetables that I could use to cook right?"

He asked that because of the double doors leading to another room that read 'Kitchen', so he figured if there was 'something' he could work with he could make himself something to eat.

[I apologize Captain however, we do not carry anything to eat besides synthetic produce, standard issue for all space fairing vessels. It is one of the chief ways ship captains save money on journeys.] The ship replied to him, before tentatively asking. [Do you... not like what I made?]

"It's not that... it's just... I was hoping for real food... not synthetic. You honestly did an amazing job with what I asked for, it's just... Synthetic food isn't the same as 'real' food." He told it with a frown, picking at his rice and begrudgingly eating it. "I guess... the food we have is only meant for me, right? Since what's in our cargo bay is off limits, right?"

[Yes Captain.]

He sighed as he took a drink and was glad at least the 'water' was as it should be. He ate the rest of his 'synthetic' steak, broccoli and rice while being observed by the ship, seemingly interested in his response to what was made for him. When he finished he placed his empty dish, glass, and utensils on the slot where they came up from and watched as it was lowered, quickly replaced by the insignia of the room.

"Great Fox."

[Yes Captain?]

"When we reach Belga Cinco, if you can, please get rid of our 'synthetic' food and place orders for 'real' food, meats, vegetables, fruits. I don't care about saving money, but I want 'real' food if we're going to be flying around the galaxy."

[Understood, I will make a note of it. I apologize if you find your food, unsatisfactory, I was unaware that you preferred real food. This is the first time you have shown any complaints... have you... always had these thoughts?]

He was about to say that it wasn't the case, but then he remembered that he was living in the game world now. To his ship, he probably never once complained about 'eating' synthetic food because from his perspective he only ever saw the outside of the ship while playing. So, when he was going from place to place being idle, if he was 'actually' in the game, he probably ate this food without once complaining.

"A... little, it just always bugged me. I didn't think much of it until now. A... lot has happened to me recently and... it's like, I've forgotten many things." He muttered as he got up and walked over to the seat nearest the camera, as that appeared to be the main way the ship was watching him. "I had a bad dream it seemed; it was like... I was living another life from this. I wasn't your Captain... I was just a nobody named Arthur, working at a thankless job for less than minimum wage."

The ship's camera tracked his movements, listening to his story without attempting to interrupt him.

"The only time I felt 'happy', felt like myself... was when I was on a computer, playing a... 'simulator' where I 'was' a Captain of a space fairing ship. But then one day, something happened. A fight broke out on a transport station, and I saw a little girl fall onto the rails of the ground, right as a heavy train was about to arrive. Without thinking I shoved through the crowd, jumped down, and threw the girl back onto the platform to safety... but I wasn't fast enough to save myself. I saw... my death coming and..."

He sighed as he looked up at the ship's camera, still watching him.

"It feels like I've been given a second chance at life, a chance to live out the life I've wanted. It's weird... you probably don't understand it yourself, but it's like even though I 'know' you're Great Fox, and I 'know' I am your Captain and everything... it's like my memory is a bit foggy."

There was silence as he just listened to the sounds of the ship, quiet and humming, unsure of what the ship's response would be. When it came, it wasn't what he expected.

[Captain... I do not know of this 'dream like world' you speak of.] It stated warmly. [But I do know this. You are my Captain, you have 'always' been my Captain. Perhaps... this 'other world' you speak of, was merely the dream and 'this' is your true world. For as long as I have recorded in my database... you have been my Captain, you have taken care of me, you have modified me and updated my capabilities to match more modern vessels.]

[Even when you were presented opportunities to sell me and have a much stronger, faster, more capable ship, you ignored them and chose to keep me. You could have traded for another ship that would suit you better... but you still preferred 'me'. If... I can be of 'any' assistance to you, readjusting to your life as my Captain, I will do so with all of my capabilities... Captain Arthur.]

He smiled a little at the words of the ship, perhaps it was just the AI's intelligence, but it really sounded like it 'genuinely' was worried about him, and was wanting to help him however it could.

"Alright then Great Fox, well if you want to help me readjust, can you show me if you have a library or something where I can read some books?"

Surely a ship of Great Fox's size would have a library of some kind, right?

[Of course, Captain... please follow the purple line.]

On the wall a purple line appeared, allowing him to follow it. He had to walk for over twenty minutes before he finally came to a small single person sized door. The door had a picture of several books stacked on top of one another, with the emblem of Great Fox surrounding them. He just snickered as he approached the door and it opened for him, allowing him to enter a vast room, lined with multiple shelves along the walls each stuffed with books of the physical paper kind, and cylinder-like objects that, as he picked one up, extended a holographic window showing the contents of a book for him in digital form.

The room itself was a very calm and quiet brown with adjusting square lights to allow comfortable reading conditions. Various chairs and tables littered the room and even a few soft pillow chairs dotted the walls. Along a section of the wall was a minimalistic portrayal of a fox winking, with a paw up to its mouth while holding a book in its other paw. The universal symbol of 'quiet in the library'.

"Wow..."

[This library constitutes various books of fiction literature for your reading pleasures, it also contains data entry points of our past missions and events.] The ship told him as he replaced the holographic book back on the shelf. [I have kept multiple data files of past missions and events we participated in, including several battle conflicts and assaults from other High/Low Profile Ships.]

He looked over one of these data logs and began reading about an encounter Great Fox had with a Scorpion Class dreadnaught, during a munitions supply run to Aegis two. He remembered that, he and Great Fox were running a supply convoy from the faction he was working for at the time, the Goobers, to a faction that was currently at with his faction's rival, the Playground Kids. The dreadnaught had intercepted his cargo and engaged in a vicious ship to ship fight. Great Fox came out of it with a lot of damage, but thanks to a distress signal nearby ships came to intervene, at the same time as other ships arrived to help the Dreadnaught. It quickly spiraled into a vicious brawl constituting sixty player ships engaging in brutal dogfighting and ship maneuvers, but through it all he and Great Fox slipped away from the melee to complete their delivery.

He looked at the damage reports, and recognized them very well. The damages were extensive, it took a full week of repairs at a planetary station to get her back to full strength. Or at least, a 'week' in game, he had that day off so he spent most of it just idling and talking in game with other Captains in the ship docks waiting on their ships to be repaired and resupplied. In total he just really waited seven hours until he could leave the station again.

Recalling that memory gave him a sudden pang, he couldn't see his online friends again. If they even knew who he was in real life, all they knew of him as was 'Captain Arthur' and his ship 'Great Fox'. But as he thought about it again, perhaps that was for the best... if he really had a new life now as Captain of his ship, he could... live a new life, a life he wanted to live as a kid but couldn't have ever come true back then.

Sitting in one of the comfier chairs he scrolled through some more memories, or 'data logs' as his ship called them, recalling encounters, stories, and other events from over the years. He even saw the very first log entry his ship recorded.

[Captain Arthur, takes command of 'Finback' Battleship class Hull ship, identification numbers GF-109-AJ-T1-994, henceforth renamed 'Great Fox'. First Mission, Fuel Run delivery to Paldora Nine.]

He smiled as he recalled that mission, his ship had almost 'no' weapons since he spent all of his funds, he'd saved from the previous first year of playing during early access, even selling his original craft a light frigate, to pay for the new ship. She was so barebones that she didn't even have a 'single' cannon to her name to defend her, and was just an overly sized cargo runner. He had to request 'protection' from other captain ships and even joined in random convoys to keep himself safe.

[Would you like to listen to music while you reminisce?] The ship asked him.

"Yea... yea, I would like to listen to some music... play something, soft and pleasant to the ears please?"

[As you wish...]

{Sunrise – Race the Sun}

The music he heard as he laid back in his chair started off with a gentle violin tone, followed by a piano tune, eventually other instruments followed and proceeded to play out a gentle tune that made him feel very relaxed. He smiled and just clasped his hands together, leaning into the chair and just listening to the music soothe him into a comforting state of mind. His breathing settled, his heart was calm, his nerves eased, and all in all he felt himself at peace as the ship played its music to ease his mind. He could just picture his ship, silently moving through space, empty endless space with that music playing... and it just put a warm smile on his face.

Everything was wonderful, for a brief moment, he felt himself at peace.

*Briingershmpt*

*Briingershmpt*

*Breeeeep, Breeeeep, Breeeep*

The ship was suddenly rocked multiple times, the music suddenly ended and warning lights began flashing around the room as he heard numerous sounds in the distance that sounded 'eerily' like blaster shots colliding with shields.

"What's going on?" He yelled in a panic.

[Alert, shields weakening, we are under attack by multiple hostiles. Early analysis of attack pattern indicates Pirate Raiders attempting to destroy the ship and salvage the remains of our cargo!] Great Fox informed him, though it was in a 'very' calm voice.

"Pirates, but, we're in Low Profile Mode, shouldn't we be all but invisible to them, I thought we had a very incredibly low chance of being spotted and attacked by pirates!"

[I do not know how they spotted us, but shields are weakening Captain. Defensive systems are currently offline, our current speed is not enough to escape our pursuers. We must take action soon.]

"Can you switch to High Profile Mode?"

[Negative, the autopilot is still active and will not relinquish control of the systems without your permission. You must disengage the autopilot from the bridge.]

*Bnngbnngbnng*

The ship shook again as another barrage of blaster shots collided with the ship's shields, making him stutter a little on his legs.

[Please hurry Captain, shield strength is down to sixty-seven percent.]

"Sixty-seven... but, the shields should be able to withstand a pirate attack without any trouble, they shouldn't be failing that fast!" He yelled as he remembered his shields able to withstand a massive pirate attack from several corvettes and cruisers with no trouble.

[While in Low Profile Mode, shield strength is reduced to five percent of maximum capacity.]

"Oh, of course, I forgot, 'Low Profile Mode', meaning the ship reduces its power consumption and output to 'low levels' so as to maintain a 'low profile'." He muttered as he forgot about that little detail about Low Profile Mode.

The ship was again wracked by blaster fire, signaling the shields were being assaulted again.

[Shields down to fifty-seven percent, I recommend you head to the bridge and disengage the autopilot so we can enter High Profile Mode and defend ourselves Captain.]

"Right, bridge, autopilot, how do I get there?" He yelled as he quickly left the library and ran into the main corridor.

[Follow the gold line... please hurry Captain, I would... not like to be destroyed by pirates.]

"You and me both!" He hollered as he followed the gold line that appeared on the wall, red lights blinking along the corridors and around every door contrasting with the silvery steel interior of his ship to alert him to the situation.

As he ran, he would occasionally stumble from the shields being racked by blaster fire, he managed to catch a glimpse of the outside of the ship from the windows built into the sides. He saw several sleek fighters doing strafe runs on the shields of the broadside of Great Fox, their quick laser blasts striking home with each fly by. Meanwhile further along the ship near the middle section, a large, for its size, light cruiser was aiming a pair of twin heavy cannons into the side of Great Fox, every few minutes firing another salvo and dealing the most damage compared to the light taps from the fighters. During the cooldown time between fired shots from the cruiser, he could feel 'through' the ship additional shots from the other side, indicating that multiple cruisers were probably hammering into his vessel, seeking to destroy it.

"No... I 'won't' let them destroy my ship!" He yelled as he ran even faster toward the bridge.

Several long and agonizing minutes as Great Fox kept reporting the status of her shields, and he eventually found himself in front of the door to the bridge, the symbol of the Great Fox emblazoned on the door which scanned him, before opening seconds later to grant him access to the room.

"Whoa..." He muttered as he stared around the bridge.

It was a large circular room with only a single chair, but below him he could see an enormous spherical... 'computer' was the only way to describe it. It had multiple lights and various wires connected to it, and he was able to see it because the floor was see-through. At the same time there were multiple projectors offline around the room, indicating that this room would project holograms similar to the books he found in the library.

"Is... is that... 'you'?" He asked as he looked down at the computer core.

[Yes Captain... that sphere is me, it contains my personality, my data, all information regarding my systems and all faculties of the ship that I am connected to.] It stated. [Through this room, by your command, I can interface and connect to any and all aspects of the ship that you wish. From this room you can command any part of me as you wish.]

"Wow..." He muttered as he just stared, in awe at the interior of his ship that he never could see from the screen of his computer.

But his moment of awe was ruined by the ship once more shaking from the shields being struck by heavy cannon fire.

[Shields weakening Captain, twenty-two percent remaining before hull exposure. Please hurry and disengage the autopilot!]

"Right..." He said as he went over to the lone chair in the room and sat in front of it.

As he sat down a holographic prompt appeared in front of him, welcoming him back as 'Captain Arthur, of the Great Fox', and asking him if he'd like to disengage the autopilot systems and resume direct control of the ship. It looked just like the prompts he'd see on his computer screen when he logged in, asking him if he'd like to resume his captaincy over his ship and disengage his autopilot.

Smiling he clicked the 'Yes' button, and it began logging him back into the ships systems.

[Autopilot disengaging... welcome back captain]

[Systems activating, I am rebooting all systems, shield strength at seventeen percent... shall I engage High Profile Mode?] The ship asked him.

"No... not yet, can you communicate with those ships?" He said as he had a sudden thought that he'd never thought of trying before since, well before he was playing a game.

But now if he was really going to be blowing up pirate ships, he felt he should at least 'try' to be a real captain and not just mindlessly slaughter ships and people without giving them a chance to escape.

[This is an unusual course of action, but yes, I will attempt to open a communications channel with the pirate raiders.] The ship declared as multiple holographic prompts appeared, listing various systems that were offline. [Communications channel open...]

On a holographic screen in front of him he saw a person's face smirking at him. "So, finally decided to surrender huh, well it's about time." The pirate declared with a cackle, a scar along his cheek stretching as he laughed while his shiny bald head moved in and out of frame slightly. "I am the pirate leader of this gang The Grilled Strikers, and I'll be taking custody of your cargo. If you disengage it from your ship 'quickly' I'll consider leaving you with a ship to crawl back to port with."

Already he didn't like the guy, but he took a deep breath and declared, "I am Captain Arthur of the vessel 'Great Fox', I'm offering you terms to peacefully withdraw from this engagement." He said as bravely as he could.

"BAUAHAHAH, PEACEFULLY WITHDRAW?" The guy yelled hysterically. "You've got 'some' nerves offering 'me' terms to 'withdraw'. In case you didn't notice, I've got you outnumbered fifteen to one. Three light cruisers and twelve unmanned fighters against 'one' oversized cargo transport without any escort fighters 'or' frigates. You're outnumbered, and outgunned!"

"But tell you what, you made my day with that joke. So since I'm feeling generous..." He said with a grin, and suddenly the ship was blasted again from all three cruisers, jostling him in his seat.

[Captain, shields are down to six percent, another volley and we will be exposed to structural damage.] Great Fox warned him, but it was still very calm about the situation.

"Since I'm feeling generous, I'll just bring your shields down and board you with my gang. That's right, I'll happily take your ship now instead of just its cargo. I'll let you join my crew as an unwilling participant. Of course, we can always just 'kill' you and take your ship apart piece by piece. I think my boys and I would make a good profit selling off the 'scraps'."

He was quiet at that, these guys obviously didn't seem to regard their lives very well, or they didn't scan his ship all that well at this range. If they did, they would have seen that his ship was obviously not 'unarmed'. Even in Low Profile Mode, a close-range scan of his ship would have revealed the true extent of its armaments.

"You force my hand then... very well..." He muttered. "Just know, I offered you a chance to save your lives..."

"Save our lives, buahahahaha, you're killing me buddy!" The pirate cackled in response.

"I intend to now... nobody threatens my ship, and gets away with it. And one more thing before you die... you're wrong about what you said, I may be outnumbered, but I'm not even close to being outgunned!" He whispered dangerously. "Great Fox, engage High Profile Mode!"

[Yes Captain.] The ship replied as calmly as ever.

At his word 'every' holographic window appeared and began showing the various armaments and additions to his ship he had added to it over the years becoming active. Along the upper half of the ship along the hull, enormous sixteen meter turbolaser turrets each ranging from battleship class to heavy cruiser class began to jut out from weapon platforms. Along the sides of the ships various shielding walls slid into open slots and allowed additional eleven meter heavy cruiser class broadside plasma guns to extend outward to begin taking aim at their targets. Along the very front of the vessel beneath the head two twelve-meter, Titan Class battleship cannons were revealed to be embedded into the vessel after another plate of hull retracted to reveal themselves. But these guns were not the only ones, along the rest of the hull at around thirty-meter intervals, special six-meter seventy Anti-Fighter/Bomber (AFB) Guns jutted outward and began to track for potential targets. The shields that before had been buckling under the pressure of three light cruisers and several unarmed fighters suddenly filled up, revealing that instead of the '6' percent they were at before, were in actuality only at ninety three percent once all twelve of the shield generators were activated to full power.

As all of his ships weapons were brought to bear, he felt a sense of pride as he saw his ship in all her beautiful glory. He had spent so many years building her up and preparing her for so many encounters. Even a Captain of a Titan Class Battleship would admit his vessel was something impressive.

In front of him another window appeared, and the symbol of Great Fox lit up, with the message, [Captain Arthur, welcome back to Great Fox] before vanishing.

"W-W-W-WHAT IS... WHERE DID YOU GET ALL OF THAT FIREPOWER?" The pirate yelled, and now that his beloved ship was fully active, Great Fox could pick up the communications of the other ships.

"B-B-boss, we can't take that thing on, we should run!"

"Shut it... it's just smoke an guns... he's just bluffing, fire everything!"

He could see all three light cruisers open fire with their primary weapons and the unmanned fighters all commenced a huge attack run on his ship. It was honestly an impressive barrage of attacks that against his ship in its Low Profile Mode, would have caused massive shaking and stuttering as well as damage to his shields. However, his ship in High Profile Mode, barely even budged' under the weight of the attack, even the shields barely registered a dent being made by their attack, not even a full percent of damage to his shields were done.

He smiled as his vessel 'easily' held off the attack, and now that he was given more data on the enemy, he could see just how outclassed they were. Three light cruisers were nothing compared to Great Fox's shields and weapons, and the unmanned fighters were just simple attack drones designed to cause chaos and distract any guns and protecting fighters. This was a minor pirate raid, nothing his ship needed to fear once High Profile Mode was enabled. They were mere 'pests' compared to his ship.

[High Profile Mode engaged, all systems online, weapons systems active and at full power, shields at ninety-two percent of capacity... awaiting your orders.]

"Alright, let's see if I can handle you in the chair as I do in front of the screen." He declared as he grabbed at a holographic screen featuring the heavy guns that were aimed at the light cruisers. "Take care of the fighters for me!"

[Of course, Captain, AFB Guns are active, tracking targets... opening fire!]

"Let's give them hell!"

His first salvo from the side guns pointing at the two cruisers on his left side. In a single barrage his plasma blasts tore through their weak shields and blasted massive damage into the hulls of the ships.

"HUaaaaaaah!" A voice screamed in horror before it was silenced by the second blast.

The pirate ship exploded in a huge burst of fire and light, bits and pieces of debris scattering here and there, bouncing off the shields.

"I'M OUTA HERE!" Another voice screamed in panic as the second cruiser tried to turn away.

Alas he smirked as he grabbed another window and brought up another set of guns, trained them on the escaping target, and fired. He could 'feel' the ship firing off two salvos, the first blasted through the shields of the second target and did considerable damage to the engines. And then the second targeted the ship and destroyed it in a burst of flame and debris.

With two cruisers destroyed and seeing multiple tracer rounds from the AFB guns lighting up the space around the ship, targeting and destroying the unmanned fighters trying to zip around and be an annoyance, he turned his attention to the remaining cruiser. The one captained by the boss of this pirate gang. He received an audio signal from the pirate who was trying to pull away.

"Alright, you win, you win, I'm out of here, I'll never bother you again, just leave me alone!" He screamed in desperation.

"Whatever happened to blasting my ship and selling off the scrap for a profit?" He said with a sad smile as Great Fox adjusted its course to bring the forward guns to bare. "Sorry, but you had your chance to run and live. Now you pay the price..."

He waited until he was in range, and then looked down at the sphere with a sad but determined expression. "Great Fox... 'fire'."

[Firing Main Guns!]

There was a brief flash of light, before two beams of plasma launched forward and struck the escaping cruiser in the engines.

"HUAAAAAAAAAARGH" He heard the pirate screaming before it ended, as the ship was destroyed in a huge explosion.

He sighed sadly, as he felt a heavy weight on his heart now. He'd just killed three people at least. Despite the fact that he was forced to defend himself, he still didn't hesitate to kill these pirates once they tried to start running away. Pirates or not, scum or not, they were still living breathing people now that he was in this world. He felt... sad and... bitter about killing them.

[All pirate targets destroyed Captain, congratulations.] The ship told him warmly. [Transmitting details of the pirate gang audio logs and debris status of the targets to the nearest Port Authority. Transmission received, a bounty on this pirate gang has been found and the reward of thirty-thousand Multi-Planet Credits have been added to your account.]

But he didn't feel it, he didn't feel like it was a moment worthy of congratulations. His ship outclassed this pirate gang so much it wasn't even a proper fight, let alone a fair fight. Once his ship activated all of its systems, he basically squashed them like bugs... and he killed them without 'any' effort.

[Captain? Are you alright?]

He looked down to the core where his ship's AI rested and sighed. "I'm going to be honest... they... I've never taken a life before Great Fox. This... this is my first... time... sure we've defeated pirates before but... remember how I said it..."

He was silent as he was just... afraid. He'd killed three pirates, where they wanted, yes, but it still didn't matter to him. He was always raised to value life, nobody 'deserves' to die but... he had to protect himself, was it alright? He blew up the first cruiser because he had no choice, but the other two he could have easily let run away. He only destroyed them because they wanted to destroy his ship, scrap it, and sell it for parts after killing him.

[Captain... do not feel sorry for what we did, it needed to be done.] The ship told him warmly. [Pirates crop up across the various star highways and corridors, they prey on all kinds of ships, whether they are unarmed civilian transports or heavily guarded food and medical convoys. There are thousands of systems and there are millions of pilots trying to keep them in check and eliminate them from the galaxy. The gang we eliminated, was wanted for sixty-seven counts of murder, two hundred counts of theft, and at least six confirmed counts of forced slavery.]

He looked down in surprise, 'slavery', there was 'slavery' in this world?

[The authorities send you their thanks, you have made the corridor between Belga Cinco and Belga Seis a little safer with their destruction. But even so, it is proven that piracy is a profitable choice for many pilots and captains of ships that do not wish to live within the restriction and fees of... 'civilized' space fairing systems. Additional pirates will no doubt, spawn up in this area seeking to target ships of opportunity. There are markets that are willing to purchase stolen goods and materials at a discounted price with no questions asked... and these pirates take advantage of these 'quick cash grabs' that various ships transporting goods offer. As long as there are law abiding ships and crews with goods being delivered, there will be pirates seeking to prey on them.]

He took a moment to think about that, his ship had a point, there were always new pirates cropping up. Even now he guessed maybe another pirate group might be watching him and thinking 'his ship's guns would sell high if they could gather the numbers', and were planning to attack him. And he was just rewarded for taking this tiny gang down and even given a 'thank you' directly for taking them out. Perhaps... it was 'alright' as long as the act benefited innocent people.

"Alright, but from now on Great Fox, if I can avoid killing, I want to avoid it. I'll only destroy pirate ships, but if I can spare lives I will, is that acceptable?"

[Of course, Captain.]

He smiled as he leaned back into the chair and stared at a few screens. "Now that we've settled that... can you put us back on course?"

[Gladly~!] She replied with a warm tone, and as he watched the ship turned and resumed its original course to Belga Cinco. [Course resumed, shall we remain in High Profile Mode, or return to Low Profile Mode?]

He smiled as he brought up a window and flicked his finger, switching the ship from High to Low Profile Mode. He also reengaged the Auto Pilot, since now that the danger had passed there was no further need for the ship to be at full battle readiness. As everything was entered, he watched the multiple screens featuring the various systems and armaments of the ship folding back and being concealed, the ship once more resembling its previous 'non-hostile' mode. He also noticed on one screen as it passed by him, several little ships, each the size of a person or so, flying back to the ship from the various debris of the ships left behind.

"What's this?" He muttered as he brought it closer.

[Salvage Drones, in the event of a battle involving other ships, most notably Pirate Vessels, this vessel carries a supply of Salvage Drones that will automatically be deployed to collect salvageable materials that can either be used or sold at the captain's behest at a planet side space port. The following salvage has been recovered and identified...]

He looked over and saw about fifty tons of various metal allows, a few engine parts, weapon parts, even a light cruiser cannon. In total the value estimated at about ten thousand MPC. It looked to him like a 'loot window', as he recognized the window prompt from when he was playing the game, and often saw these windows every time he defeated multiple pirate ships during his gametime. It wasn't exactly a lot, but he could at least sell the stuff when he and Great Fox arrived at their destination.

He got up and turned the chair around to leave, with the ship saying, [Autopilot Engaged, Captain Arthur].

He sighed as he just decided to wander the ship a little, before going to a window he saw and electing to stare out into space. The fighting had caused him to view the area outside of his ship as a dangerous battle zone, but once the danger had passed, and once more silence resumed everything looked so peaceful out here. It was... wonderful honestly.

There were no people yelling, screaming, no horns honking from cars, no random trains, no annoying jerks blasting rap music filled with racial slurs or arguing parents or punks picking a fight and acting like angry bickering gorillas. It was just... peaceful quiet, just him and his ship silently traveling through space to their destination.

"Great Fox?"

[Yes Captain?]

"We're not in a rush... so is the autopilot having us travel on our original speed?"

[Yes Captain, if you'd like we can adjust the speed but you will need to end the autopilot in order to adjust our speed.]

He smiled as he shook his head, staring at his reflection and enjoying the quiet. "No... keep it as it is, I was just... saying that we aren't in a rush." He told it. "It's... nice, isn't it? The quiet I mean."

[Yes... it is very quiet; do you enjoy the quiet?]

"A little, I just hate really loud noises." He replied. "Right now, I just want to enjoy my time with you Great Fox... this... quiet time where it's just us traveling in peace... I want to enjoy it as long as I can before we reach our destination."

[As you wish... my Captain.]

He smiled warmly as he looked at a nearby camera watching him, and then turned his attention back to the window, leaning against it. Out of the corner of his eye he watched the reflection of the camera as it 'also' turned to stare outside the window. There they stayed that way for an unknown amount of time, a Captain and his Ship traveling through space in peaceful silence. It wasn't until a few more hours passed before Arthur realized how tired he was becoming, wandering the ship and just examining everything he could and learning more about his ship.

"Hey... do I... uh have a bedroom or so Great Fox?"

[Yes, follow the white line.]

He looked and raised an eyebrow at the wall, hardly able to see the white line the ship had given him to follow. "Can you pick a more 'noticeable' color please?"

The color of the lit-up line on the wall changed to pink, and he began following it to its destination. He was led up a few flights of stairs until he reached 'crew quarters' and found that his room had the label 'Captain's Quarters' in gold writing, the door to his room even had the fox insignia he'd become accustomed to. He also noticed there were a lot more rooms available, indicating the ship could easily accommodate a healthy crew size. But it was his own private room he was interested in as the door slid open to allow him entry, and what he saw amazed him.

His own private room was something he'd seen only in a sci-fi show like star trek, he had a large King's sized bed with velvet red blankets, a shelf to the side stacked with books, a miniature table for eating and even a view screen on the wall that, upon his entering, flickered on to reveal the insignia of Great Fox. Opposite the screen he had a window which gave a wonderful view of the head of Great Fox and a view of whatever direction the ship was traveling, meaning he had a current view of a beautiful distant nebula and multiple stars in the vast sea of space. The room was about ten meters in length, eight meters wide, and about twelve meters tall. He also had a built-in closet that was open showing multiple uniforms and even sleeping ware. There was a door that when he opened, revealed a luxurious bathroom with a huge shower space, toilet, and towels beneath a sink.

He looked around the cabinets above the sink and found some 'standard toothpaste' and brushes, and began brushing his teeth and washing his hands. Once he was done, he saw a clothes bin and decided to throw everything he was wearing into the bin and grabbed some pajamas to wear for sleep. He noticed that his light shirt still carried the star peeking over the horizon emblem badge on it from his uniform. He stepped over to his bed and, after a moment of feeling it with his hand, sat down on the comfy bedding, placing his head on one of the pillows situated on it, and glanced outside of the ship to just 'stare' at what he was looking at.

"Great Fox?" He asked.

[Yes Captain?] His ship replied warmly, and he saw, not to his surprise, a tiny camera turn to observe him in the very corner of his room.

"I know you probably will already do it, without me asking... but... for tonight, can you watch me to make sure... I don't go anywhere?" He told the ship.

There was a moment of silence before the ship replied, [Of course Captain, I will monitor you throughout your rest period.] She replied in a warm, soothing tone this time. [Pleasant Dreams, Captain.]

He smiled as he eventually closed his eyes, and began to fall into a peaceful, and welcomely blissful sleep.

The next morning, he would create his own personal log for himself.

[Captain Arthur's personal log.]

[I don't know how I came to this universe, this world that appears to resemble the game I played while alive on 'Earth'. But one day, as I was preparing to head to work, I rescued a little girl from being run over by a train, and apparently died in her place. I went from being a boring thankless drink runner at a baseball game working for below minimum wage to being a hero... at the cost of my life ending that day.]

[Perhaps it was by some miracle or maybe the act of saving another's life without thinking to save my own, but I found myself waking up, not in some paradise like heaven, an eternal torment like hell, or even a limbo like state where its empty nothingness. Instead, I found myself waking up in the medical bay of my very own ship, the Great Fox, that I had spent the last 15 years owning and controlling, upgrading and improving while playing the game Horizon Star.]

[My ship spoke to me, and helped me become accustomed to living in this new life, showing me that I was in fact her Captain and showing me that I was well and truly alive. Not long after I woke up, we were attacked by pirates, seeking to take my cargo and maybe even destroy my ship unless I did something. Well, I did something and activated my ship's High Profile Mode, turning it from the visually defenseless cargo ship they perceived, to the mighty warship Great Fox that I knew it as.]

[The fight ended quickly, and even though I was a little saddened that I took lives, my ship informed me that in this world, I had to protect not only myself but also others with my ship. The pirates may have left me alone, but they wouldn't have left others alone, if my ship would be ignored by them, then another would be targeted in its place. We still have a destination to reach, and a mission to complete, and honestly, I'm excited to see it as I've never actually seen the planets in the game from a person's perspective, only from the view of space as the ship.]

[I've talked to the ship and she even agreed, that if we intend to continue in this world together, I may need a crew, since I plan on eating 'real' food instead of the synthetic flavor food I 'normally' ate according to Great Fox. Well, regardless... Belga Cinco is just over a day away now, I wonder who I'll invite to join my crew and what my next mission will be!]

[Either way... from this point onward, I am Captain Arthur of the Great Fox... and this is my new life, as a Spaceship Captain of the ship I spent 15 years taking care of and fine tuning!]

=Meanwhile... back on Earth=

Several people were crying at a funeral service, as a coffin was lowered into the dirt. The body was of a young 30-year-old man, named Arthur Smith, a simple Drink Runner at a baseball stadium who also worked another part time job. Of the people present, most were family of the boy or colleagues from his job. But among them were a family of three who were the last to leave flowers to him, before saying goodbye. His body was smashed beyond recognition... and according to medical staff his death was quick and painless, assuring those he left behind that he felt no pain when it came.

But of the people who were mourning his loss, the most affected was one father who had been beating himself up every minute when he learned the name of the man who saved his daughter. He'd been fighting his wife and arguing with her for over two years now... and the one day they decided to take their fighting outside, resulted in a man dying to save 'their' daughter.

He should have been paying more attention, he should have been more careful, he should have been a better father.

"But not anymore..." He muttered as he stared at the picture of Arthur Smith. "I'm going to become a better man; I'll be a better person from here on out..."

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=Author's Note=

So, it may look like I'm abandoning my projects, but I'm actually not... I needed to give my mind something 'new' to explore and help reinvigorate my creative juices and writing abilities again. Trust me when I say this story isn't exactly my 'main' focus, but another story that I'm going to update from time to time. And i had a ton of fun writing it~!

To put it into perspective, it took me '2-4' months for me to write my latest Delphox/Zoroark lemon for Pokemon when I was pushing myself to write it because i kept losing interest... and motivation.

This story i came up with while letting my brain... well 'be itself', i managed to write in 3 days. Almost non-stop in my spare time while writing another chapter for my 'Heart of Gazelle and Humanity' story. I just had that much fun.

I always had a dumb idea for an Isekai where the protag would be a spaceship captain and a nintendo fan, instead of the usual fantasy isekais of swords/magic/dragons etc. But it will have those usual tropes of isekais where the protag gets himself a harem girls and other companions, in this case pilots for his fighters and crew for his ship, and even his 'ship' as a potential 'waifu' if you haven't noticed the attraction the ship has toward her Captain.

If you have any ideas you'd like to see happen in this story, go ahead and write a review, i may include them or so.

And yes... 'lemons' will occur, cause what's an Isekai Fanfiction story, if you can't have a harem of waifus and get a little 'frisky' with them.

Also future chapters 'may' be longer then this one, so if there's an extended period of time where I'm not uploading a chapter to this story, thats why~

Review away, whehter what i wrote stinks or if its good, let me know your opinions, i do read 'all' reviews~