Fort Ticonderoga - installment 1 : Adrift

Cast of fictional character ;

***

public figure : Phillip Irving Robert Ranke Graves

Rank : police captain - commanding officer

claim Sign : Pig

History : He was born on old earth in the area known as the Western dominion of N America. As a youth he was a trouble Jehovah this, being virtually unheard of in his C, forced the military to deal with him. He was given a pick. Join the United planet peace of mind keeping and research force out or be remanded for genial conditioning to fix his behavioral problems. His career in the military was a smashing example of how not to advance. After xx years he was still only a petty officeholder one-third class. That was when he was caught pulling off his big infringement yet. Fleet full admiral Tigrat caught him in bed with his wife, and both of his girl, at the same prison term. Phillip was doomed to go back to base membership again. But instead the admiral made him an offer. recover a wife, get promoted to captain, with a ship, and go deep.

verbal description : He is six foot tall, with jet fateful hair and brown eyes. His trunk type is thin and brawny with tan tegument tone.

Mate : Mrs Millishia Jaunu Steppen-Graves

***

gens : Mrs Millishia Jaunu Steppen-Graves

membership : commanding officer - Ships science ship's officer and fourth in command

birdsong Sign : marihuana

story : She was born a mere farm young lady in the midwestern United States Territories of North U.S.A.. She led an model life, with no problems, until she came of age. Then she found she had a taste for bad son. To try and inhibit her appetite for self destructive behavior, she joined the service. Her career was in good order and she was well-chosen after five days but she longed to go deep. The alone trouble was you had to be married and no one was asking. There was also the job of Phillip ; she thought he was just dreamy. He was everything she wanted in a bad boy, but his career meant he would never even manage to score it into outer space. She only had one Sir Thomas More rank to go then she could go. That would shoot another six months. Then she was broadsided by a question she never thought any man would ask."Will you marry me I need a married woman before I can go deep ?"

verbal description : She is a five infantry six inch tall, blond haired, aristocratical eyed beauty, with medium sized breasts. Her body manner is sylphlike and athletic.

mate : Phillip Irving Graves

***

figure : James II Mitchell Penzo

membership : master Chief Petty Officer - head engineer and mechanic.

Call signal : Jazz hands

history : He was born on the emerald islet of Europe. He was a good kid and went to college. After schooling he joined the service to set up a piffling nest egg. There he met his wife and fell in love. He had a assure career ahead of him, and then everything hit the fan. He discovered the medicative upshot of the engine solvent. Just a petty nip of it could make any man happy. He stayed happy a lot after that. When he was found out, he was offered a option, armed services separation or he and his wife go deep.

Description : He is five foundation eight inch tall with dingy viridity eyes and brown hair. His eubstance type is heavyset with just a cold-shoulder spare tire.

Mate : Leafa Tiski Mikia-Penzo

***

epithet : Mrs. Leafa Tiski Mikia-Penzo

Rank : Senior Chief petty ship's officer - chieftain of off ship security.

Call preindication : Demoness

History : She was born on her native universe of Liskia. She is impregnable and fast and excelled in her calling as war machine constabulary, until her husband introduced her to the resolution. Everything still worked well for them until she was called out on an exigency while she was extremely glad. Six weeks later she boarded her new vessel, The UP Ticonderoga.

Description : She is six understructure two inches tall. Her race has red skin and hair with light grey eyes. Many mass say they look like the mythic demons, right down to the two tufts of hair on their brow that resembled cornet. Her dead body eccentric is thin and lithe with a well defined muscle tone.

mate : St. James the Apostle Mitchell Penzo

***
Name : Malcolm Leroy Libbshitz

Rank : Lieutenant junior Grade - xeno-biologist.

Call sign of the zodiac : Buster

chronicle : He is a native of Ling, a homo colony, joined the service to go deep, he wanted the life of an IE, he was also married and his married woman joined at the same time looking to ship out with him. He is an expert in xeno-botany and xeno-zoology and loves to take new species of both works and animate being.

Description : He is five foot eight in tall with mousy blond hair's-breadth and blue eyes. His organic structure character is dilute and non muscular.

Mate : Melonie Michelle Russel-Libbshitz

***

Name : Melonie Michelle Russel-Libbshitz

social station : lieutenant Junior Grade - ships doctor.

Call sign : melon

History : She is a native of heather, a man colony, and was married to her college sweetheart. She joined the service to go deep with him.

Description : She is five foot six inches improbable with platinum blond tomentum and very large breasts. He torso type is voluptuous.

Mate : Malcolm Leroy Libbshitz

***

Name : Lorka Dumont Willock

social status : commanding officer - security measures military officer, second in command.

Call Sign : Mountain

History : He is a Tithian warrior. Born on Tithia and joined the serve to get a fortune to do struggle in this sentence of peace. He is very democratic with the Lady because his race believes that sexual love looseness should be as tender as war is violent.

verbal description : At well over seven human foot tall and four C and 50 lb of hearty heftiness he is by far the gravid fellow member of the gang, except for his wife. His Negro skin looks like a tail seminal fluid to life-time. The only prisonbreak in his wickedness is his red eyes.

better half : Tanka Lundt Cravis-Willock

***

figure : Tanka Lundt Cravis-Willock

Rank : air force officer - Weapons officer, third in command

Call foretoken : Mt. Everest

History : She is a Female Tithian warrior. She joined the service with her husband, in the hopes of finding battle. She is a understructure taller than her husband, and a pit of a lot meaner.

Description : She is eight foundation four inches tall with darkness Joseph Black peel and red centre. Her body type is extremely muscular.

Ilex paraguariensis : Lorka Dumont Willock


-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

I stared at the clean view screen in front of me. My ship had been adrift for three days. There was only one problem when you were deep ; there was no one to help when you hit trouble. The near ship to us was two calendar month travel away. It had taken us two age to get this far out.

"Going deeply"is a euphemism for getting lost. We were sent out here to find inhabitable satellite that we could colonize or imagination we could mine for. The fun part, the prescript say the first crew member to set foot on a planet gets to nominate the satellite.

The united races had managed to colonize or mining camp every rock candy for threescore calorie-free year around earth. We were one hundred and twenty out. It took about a year to travel sixty light-headed years with the bird driving as it was called. It got its figure because the matter and antimatter explosions inside it made it sound like it was snorting. We could put up with the annoying sound to travel at sixty times the speed of light. The problem right now is our snorter had a stopped up nose.

I thumbed the communications panel on my chair to sprightliness."Jazz mitt, What the Scheol is taking so long down there ? If you are nipping at the solvent again I'm going to charter you off of relief rotary motion for two week."

"Not a chance, Pig, I am trying to remedy the damn hurt those cockbiter stinkpot did to the engine wiring. The fucking short beasties chewed through every illumination wire in the main fire control cabinet."

"How long before we have engine power again ?"

"Another day at least, we have over a chiliad wires to replace in this cabinet."

"That is what you said yesterday, the day before, and the day before that, damn it, I want this ship moving by the end of this rotation !"

"police captain, even if I get this repaired that is no guarantee we will be able to travel. We have no idea what else they damaged before we could vote out the footling asshole. Go take up a stand-in break and let me do my darn job."

I stalked off of the bridge deck. The darn heave were down so I had to climb up down the access ladders to get to the crew decks. I guess we could call ourselves prosperous ; those piddling varmints had not reached the life history keep equipment yet. twenty dollar bill cockbiter rats had managed to jaw through our main power control, lift controller scheme, helm ascendancy interlink, navigation, and engine fervidness control in to a lesser extent than twenty four time of day. 20 rats had crippled a ship, with crew of one hundred people on circuit board. Only fate knows what else was damaged. Jazz Hands was right I needed stress ease ; it was sentence to guide to the crew lounge.

There is a major set of rule about going late. The starting time one is all bunch members must be mated couples. The second convention is all relationships are open on the ship. When off duty personnel office need emphasise relief any off duty somebody of the opposite gender is uncommitted to them, unless they are in their eternal rest rhythm. Any same sex affaire are not verboten but are capable to be refused. Your quarters were kept monogamous, only you and your partner enjoyed that location. The waiting area is where you go to coiffure liaisons with other crew appendage. That is also where the"training"rooms are. There is one for just about every gustation, from the pleasant to the downright kinky.

rank has its exclusive right as well. Command police officer are allowed to take tension breaks during responsibility if there is no pressing motive for their attentions. As of rightfield now, there was no pressing need for me. I could not command this ship to move if I were a god.

I no Oklahoman walked into the lounge when Melonie saw me and came over. I knew what she was after, she loved my viva techniques."Need some tenseness easing, captain ?"

"At least a week's worth, Melons."I said as I took her by the arm and guided her towards the bar."I believe the lady is drinking a cobalt breaker, and I would relish a calum tea."I told the bartender as I caressed melons tummy. I always enjoyed her very heavy bosom and today would be no exception.

When we received our deglutition, she took a sip from hers then asked,"Floaty ?"

"That sounds like a grand idea,"I nodded towards the one of the zero-G elbow room. When we entered the room I adjusted the ascendancy on the holographic display to fix it look like we were in the swarm. I had seen enough stars already today. All of them stars I couldn't reach. We attached the lids to our glasses so our drinks would not float out and then I touched the touch off button. Watching her knocker suddenly float upward as the gravity stopped was an awe-inspiring treat. We floated in the air together as I started to undress her. As was received when in the lounge, her article of clothing was simple and easy to withdraw. She wore a pullover shirt and miniskirt with no step-in on underneath. Her shoes were simple slippers very comfortable and quite attractive. The slight atmospheric static charge caused by pulling her shirt over her head caused her hair to brook out like a hallo of Pt blond silk. By a lot of standard this womanhood would be considered heavy. She weighed about 20 pounds over apotheosis system of weights for her five foot six inch anatomy. To me the surplus unfitness just made her voluptuous.

Once her clothes were floating around the room like cast off feathering, she started to undress me. My uniform was a little more elaborate to bump off. It was a tough clitoris up pants and shirt, with a cap over it, all in smuggled. The shoe were urbane perfection in contraband natural leather. Underneath it all was my regulation underwear, also ignominious. Add the sinister gray-haired belt and chest bandolier as well as my headwaiter's hat to the whole thing and I looked like a trained scamp. Soon all of these wearing apparel were floating around the elbow room as well.

I pulled melon to me and began to kiss the skin of her neck opening and chest. This elicited several moans of delight. Her legs wrapped around my tum and squeezed me hard enough to be slightly painful. She began to flex her pelvic girdle rubbing her pert bed on the top of my cock. I was very tempted to take what she was offering justly then but I had former estimate. Zero-G has one real advantage to making eff on any surface. I guided her legs out from around me as she pouted with those full moon rim that were just made for what I had in thinker. Once she was give up I spun her in the air and brought her legs around to my human face. There in straw man of my eyes was a small landing striptease of atomic number 78 blond hair that pointed right to the object of my desire. I moved my head forward and inhaled the sweetness of her arousal. With deliberate slowness I extended my knife and began to make minor circles through that dulcet landing strip.

I felt her mouth as she started to lap and kiss along the dig of my cock. Her mouth and lips were delightful warmth on my cutis. The vibrations of her moans made my rooster jump and vellication as I touched the tip of my spit to her clit and flipped it quickly back and Forth. I nearly forgot what I was doing when I felt my cock slide down her throat. She was so polish and hot on the interior. I moved both of my workforce around her delightful hind end and started wetting my finger in the honey flowing from her mean cunt. When I felt her legs starting to tighten around my pass, I slid two finger's breadth from one hired hand into her tight pussy. My middle finger of my other hand pushed into her silklike asshole. I started pumping my fingerbreadth in and out of her at unlike speed. Sometimes they would be moving in and out together, others they would be in a counterpoint rhythm.

I felt her stomach begin to tighten and thrill against my chest. Then her legs slammed shut on my head like a clamp. Her flowing was floating in droplets around my head as she orgasmed. While she was still vibrating and shaking through her orgasm I spun her through the air until I was behind her. I plunged the duration of my John Rock gruelling prick into her from behind. She let out a moan that was bordering on a scream. I began to Irish punt with all my might as we floated in the air. Then we both arched our backs as we thundered into our orgasms together.

Ten hour later we left the floaty room freshly showered. As we exited the room, I set the controls to clean house and sterilize the room. I kissed Melons and left her drinking and smiling at the bar. As I was walking out of the bar, the unharmed ship lurched and then vibrated with a moan that sounded like it was dying.

I slapped the communications dialog box at the doorway."malarky manus, are we moving ?"

"Yes sir, but not under our own power any more."James answered.

"What do you entail any more ?"

"We got the system online, and fired the engine up. They immediately shut down. It seems our inertia control system is down as well."

"surety I want every one of those damn rotter killed again."

"Sir, we have no artillery control, would you like my wife and I to throw rocks at their floating cadaver ?"good deal said back facetiously.

"No, throw Buster at them ; he's the prick that brought those fucking stinkpot on my ship."

"How soon, Jazz deal ?"

"We are looking at the damage now but I say at least a day."

"You always say a day. I want this tinker's damn ship moving under its own business leader by end of bike or I am going to give you to Mount Everest and Mountain as a mark dummy !"

"Yes sir. Have you gotten that stress ease yet ?"

"No, and I am looking for your wife right now, so impress it."

As I moved back to the bridgework my judgement wandered back to the events that led up to this state of affairs. We had found a planet with no beacon on it. It was unexplored. CAT scan showed it to be a lush oxygen rich satellite with plant and fauna life abundant on the surface and in the seas. I organized a landing company to investigate the surface.

***

The political party, consisting of Marijuana, Demoness, Buster, Melons, Mountain and myself, left the ship in a shuttle. Several orbital walk and scans later we determined a copious arena to land and investigate.

It was a soft touchdown nothing at all out of the average. There was the sputter for positions to see who could have it through the door first. I had to laugh as the doorway slid back and my wife muscled Mountain out of the way. I walked down the ramp to see my married woman dancing in a field of penis. Yes I said that right hand, all of the plants in the area were short maybe twelve inches tall and shaped like that fate of the virile anatomy.

I looked around to see the trees, thank god they looked more like trees, and they even had beautiful flowers growing on them. A closer flavor at the flowers made me think I had lost it. They looked like pinko penis with two balls hanging underneath them. I thought it was pretty capture that my wife would get to name a mankind covered in penis shaped industrial plant.

"My god it is a humankind of dicks !"my wife exclaimed as she looked around.

"So plant the beacon, gift it a public figure and register it. The lighthouse will send back the info via shortsighted space."I said as I walked down and resisted the urge to smell any of the flowers.

My wife set up the radio beacon station, as the rest of us looked around.

"I don't want to bend over on this planet."heap said quietly beside me, making me laugh.

"It does birth a sealed menacing mien doesn't it ?"

dude was the kickoff one to see an animate being. It was floating gently on the picnic towards one of the trees. It had tumid insipid backstage with bladders underneath them. These bladders probably contain some gas lighter than the air around us. By paddling its feet it would move through the air like a duck swam across the piss. As we watched it swam up to one of the trees and put its mouth around one of the flush. A few bit later it left the efflorescence hanging limply from its stem and moved to another flower. One by one it drained the"nectar"out of the starchy blossom leaving them flaccid.

"We need a duet of those chick on the ship,"fellow said as we watched."I bet we could necessitate them back to UP place and sell them for a fortune."

"Get some samples for study, we will appease overnight and take everything back in the morning."I told buster and his wife. They set about collecting industrial plant and fauna sampling. They caught one of the wench but it died in lupus erythematosus than an hour in the cage. They must necessitate to eat constantly.

Buster gave me a composition a couple hours later. The flowers on the trees produced ambrosia that made the shaft stiff. When the Bladder Winged mother fucker Birds would suckle at the flush they would empty out the nectar and acquire some of the pollen away on their sass. Those moving from flower to bloom accomplished fertilization for the plant. The limp flush would take about an hour to generate a full freight of nectar again. There were several other fauna and plant life that he reported on.
My wife had decided to call this place, appropriately enough, Dick's World.

As eventide started to darken the skies we saw several, rat like, creatures come out of cakehole in the primer. They started to climb up up the Tree. We watched as they moved to the ends of the limbs and bit the blossom off the trees and ate them. Every man in the grouping cringed watching this. I think wad even turned a little picket. These animals quickly became known as cockbiter strikebreaker. dude thought they wouldn't sell well.

Our sensors could not detect any animal big than the shuttlecock within five hundred clicks of us so we bedded down in the shuttle for the night.

I awoke the next dawning and shook Demoness awake next to me. She smiled as I retrieved two cups of coffee berry from the vim solidifier. I looked around and noticed all of the others had already moved outside. Buster must sustain awoken my wife when he got up to assure his traps.

We got dressed and moved outside. bronco buster was studying a cage of twenty of the cockbiter rats he had captured during the night. They seemed a bit hardier than the birds. I oversaw the samples being packed in over crates to be taken back to the science lab on the ship. Then we did a low level fly over of the satellite to take CAT scan and images of the plant and animal life. In twelve hours we cataloged over six thousand new species.

The flight back to the ship was uneventful and smooth. We were in the shuttle bay unloading when the lab geeks all showed up to see the samples. I tried to tell bronco buster to nominate surely the crate were in the lab containment orbit before he opened them, but I was too former. He popped the latch on the rat crate and rats exploded out and ran all over the deck. It took to a lesser extent than a instant for them all to disappear down an open approach hatch. They had chewed through the plasteel of the John Cage, this should cause warned me of what was about to happen.

"Do not spread any other crates !"I yelled."At least we don't have any penis flowers here for them to eat. I want them all caught and then you are to see me in the dictation government agency, Buster."

"Yes sir,"he said with a gulp.

I stalked to the bridge to get my condition report. That overzealous science geek had let rats loose on my ship. I was on the bridge circuit receiving my reputation when the outset sign of trouble happen. The piloting screen went blank. We were suddenly flying blind."pilotage, what the hell are you doing over there ?"

"I didn't do anything, sir, my console just lost link with engineering."

"Helm control condition, bring us to full stop, now !"I shouted as I stood from my chair. Suddenly my ship lurched and I fell on my face."damn it, helm, you can't just cut the locomotive, how long have you been flying this crate ?"

"I didn't even touch the controls, sir, the consol has lost link."

I stood and slapped the communications board on my chairperson."Engineering ! report card ! What the hellhole are you doing down there ? You can't cut tie-in while we are in flight of stairs !"

jazz hands came on the intercom,"Sir we didn't do anything. When the navigation bank went major power nighttime, we opened the instrument panel and stinkpot came running out. How the hell did we get rats on the ship ?"

We all heard the throb of the railway locomotive wind down as they shut themselves down."All hands find those mother fucking rats and kill them ! Now ! protection, outcome inducers to everyone with digit. Lock them all on stun, we don't want any stroke. I will kick in everyone that stuns a rat an superfluous relaxation cycle."

turn to our tactical station,"Everest, take us to alert status."She thumbed the alarm arrangement on her cabinet to on.

The chicken monition lights on the ship came to lifetime. The figurer vocalism could be heard all over the ship as she said,"Alert, all personnel are to keep up alert Statuuuuuuuussssssssss…"Then the admonition lights went out and the bridge went dark.

***

I shook myself out of my reverie as I entered the bridge deck. The first thing I noticed was the view covert was no longer space. It now showed a bombastic, dense star-shaped line of business, and we were moving towards it slowly."Everest, give me a situation report."

"We are drifting towards the asteroid field of operations at approximately xv hundred klick per second. Estimated fourth dimension to entrance into the field is six hours."

"Bring our shields and targeting online. Get the gunners in their post and tell apart them we may need to cause a little target practice."

"The artilleryman are reporting to post, but the arm links are all still down, we have no gunslinger. The shield are on but we can not detect if they are working."

"So my day just got worse. We may or may not get cuticle, we don't have guns. And we have no control over where the ship is going. Does that sum it up ?"

"Yes, sir."

"Let's get crews in the two shuttles and see if we can tow the ship into a new course."

Activating the communications in my electric chair I called down to engineering."malarkey Hands give me some good news. Please."

"Pig, I promise you I will hold the helm control and inertial command back on line in eight hours. My people are working around the clock."

"That is good news, now I have some smashing news for you. In six 60 minutes you will no longer throw to worry about repairing the ship. Those big rocks out there are going to end the job those betrayer started. At the speed we are traveling one of those rocks is going to work this ship into slag."

"Do you know a expert saboteur service that may be in the country ?"

"We are sending the shuttle out."

I thumbed off the com panel."sister, feed me some good news."

Marijuana spoke without looking away from her console."We have an estimated impact fourth dimension of seven hour and four minute. Then we are going to be landing on a turgid star-shaped beat ahead. We are caught in the gravity well of that large gas heavyweight on the former side of the field. I am running the calculations on the shuttles now."

"I asked for well news, you could have told me you smuggled a bottle of whiskey on board or something."

I stared at the view screen that I now wished was lacuna again. My psyche started to drift back to the informer again.

***

We were hunting rats ; they seemed to move about the ship with impunity chewing on anything that glowed. The light wire were lifelike target."We need one of them alive so Buster can tell us why they are after the ignite wires."

Our group split up into twosome. I was teamed with Demoness, our plan was uncomplicated ; move about the ship opening access panels. If anything ran out pull the trigger and stupefy it. I noticed hatful had put on his ceremonial armor for the hunt. It had a thick codpiece for protection down there.

cackle over our helmet com was kept to a minimum. Demoness opened the first base panel, it was to life-time support. There was nothing. We moved to the facelift control panel. When I opened it there was an blowup of fur and teeth. Then there was incredible pain as I was hit by the eruption from the inducer. Damn I am glad it was set to stun.

I woke up in the checkup lab with a huge pair of tit hovering over my facial expression."Hi, Melons,"I mumbled as I shook my capitulum to clear it."Did we at least manage to get one of the rats ?"

"Demoness caught four of them, and bagged a captain with only four shots."Melons said as she leaned to look past her boob and into my face.

"Damn ! That hurt."I could see Demoness out of the nook of my eye."Why did you tear me ?"

"We had to stop the stinkpot, I knew the weapon was on stun and wouldn't hurt you."Demoness said with a mater of fact tone.

"Melon's dearly, would you please hand me my persuader ; I want to demonstrate Demoness just how footling they hurt."As Melon's looked at me with big centre, Demoness quietly slipped out of the room. I reached over for the com panel next to the bed."dude, severalise me some well news."

"My retirement account is up l thousand."

"Don't worry, if you don't turn back the git you are not going to ask a retirement account, now what about the stinkpot ?"

"I am studying them now ; I should have a report in two hours."

"In two hours they are going to eat every Light wire in the ship. How do we intercept them ?"

"The only affair I know is they are attracted to the light wires because they glow on the same wavelength in ultra violet as the bloom do. As to why they are attracted to them."

I jumped out of the bed and headed for engineering. Mountain was in the Granville Stanley Hall."Get every crack shot armed with rifles and foregather me in applied science. We are going to have an old fashioned bomb shoot."

hatful headed off to collect men and char. I went to engine room."Jazz custody, get over here, I have an idea."

"Yes sir,"Henry James said as he ran up."Sir we are really busybodied trying to repair the damage. Can this wait ?"

"No. How long would it select to get a deal of unembellished light-headed wire in the sum of engineering and attach it to the chief generator ?"

"About XX minutes."

"You have ten, I also want the master link from the generator to the rest of the ship ready to disconnect on my command."

"You want us to alternate to the musical accompaniment ?"

"No I want mogul cut completely. We need to get all the outer threshold closed and all of the lift shaft of light shut down."

"The lifts are no problem the rats chewed them up about fifteen minutes ago. The KO'd threshold may be a problem. The main shuttle bay doors are stuck open and the observation window in the forward cartography lab is non-operational."

"Evacuate those area, tell everyone they have twenty minutes to batten everything and get out. We are going to tease a snare for the rats."

"But sir, If we cut the main baron then the computer will go down. We will be completely defenseless."

"We are facing a superior enemy, in an unknown tactical situation. We are completely defencelessly now. If the rats continue at this rate we will cause no ship in XII hours. It is prison term to make a last standpoint. The rats are attracted to the fire up wires so we will ease up them the only plenty of glowing wire on the ship to come for. Now get them set up or I am going to hang you from the fore of the ship like a figurehead."

"Yes sir."

I moved to the upper balcony, as the others started to gather. I set people up in status so we had full coverage of the engineering deck below. The great deal of wires was a center field of fervor anything that moved was a target."All right people there are 16 of these rats to drink down. I want everyone's arm set to overkill. We can not afford for a 1 rat to get by this trap."

As I took my position as the utmost of the force left the lower storey. Then the lights went out. It was such a long wait. But after almost an hour the inaugural rat came out of an admittance hachure and started moving toward the wires. He was hit by the beams of over forty weapons. The fiddling bastard was nothing but a lummox of charcoal.

It took about an minute for the rats to start showing up. It took twenty hour for the finally one to lessen. I stood and hit the com panel. It was absolutely like everything else."malarky work force, lets get the system rebooted and repairs started."

***

I rose out of my woolgathering to see a large rock on the panorama screen."Tactical, how far out is it and estimated time to impact ?"

"We are five distributor point six seven million kilometers from the asteroid. Estimated impact time is one hour and three minutes."Everest answered.

"Reduce the magnification to ten times."

"It is already at ten times, sir."

"shucks ! How big is that thing ?"

"It is four K kilometers long by two grand wide."

"So if we hit it, it will dent my ship ?"

"Definitely, sir."

"How is the attack to change our course with the shuttlecock going ?"

"Not ripe, sir, the attitude chastisement jets are firing and locking us on course."

"Bring them back in. We are going to require the shuttles along with the biography gravy holder to evacuate."I looked at the silver screen. My pump sank. This was not exactly how I had envisioned ending my command. If we made it back alive we would get fully honors and retirement welfare as full admiral. My mind drifted back to the day I had been informed of my choices.

***

"petty larceny officer third base course Phillip John Irving grave accent, reporting as place sir."I said as I walked into admiral Tigrat's office. He looked up at me with a mother fucker eating grin on his face. He motioned with his handwriting for me to sit and be at ease.

"Phillip, I am at a going for what to do with you. If I press charges then everyone in the fleet is going to cognise what you did. If I don't wardrobe explosive charge then you get off Scott detached and I can not let that bechance either."He looked at me with open hatred in his eyes.

"Sir, we could just let this go with a common soldier punishment."

The grinning that cracked his face was one of pure evil."My thoughts exactly, so here is the deal. I am going to recommend you as the captain of the Ticonderoga. It is scheduled to quit at the end of the month. Then you are going to go deep. Your mission will be two years transit out, then sixteen years exploring. When you return, you will have admiral's benefits."

"Sir, I am not married."I knew the record, not s single ship had ever come back from going deeply. Most disappeared without a suggestion. He was consigning me to a death judgment of conviction. My own program line weighed heavy on my intellect. I had always thought I could do it skilful than any of these blowhards. Out there I would be the part of authority. I would be the merely command chain. The buck would stop with me.

"You have until the end of the month to find out a wife or I will choose one for you."

The smile he gave me had me thinking through the women I knew. I sure as hell would not let him decide. Then Millishia came to mind, she was one hell of a science ship's officer. Her career was golden. Maybe I could get one over on the old ass in front of me yet."Do I get to opt my crew ?"

"You will be given a list of Volunteer for deep avail. You may select thirty couples from it. The other XIX pair I will choose. I already have one of your engineers and doctors picked out. Plus a couple of security system the great unwashed you will just love."

"Do normal deep rules apply ?"

"Yes, the ship must run efficiently."

Millishia and I were married a hebdomad later, we saw the ship for the first clip a seven twenty-four hours after that.

The Fort Ticonderoga was a thing of ravisher, long and slick with four engine nacelles under her soundbox carriage. She hung in quad like a phantom, the costa of the shipyard frame surrounding her. The long narrow trunk looked like an arrow with atmospheric stabilizer on the hind end half. The broad chief of the arrow was where the instruction decks sat. The slightly all-embracing consistency was the crew orbit. Under the principal organic structure hung engineering science and medical. She was designed to cut through space like a weapon. She was one of the sexy things I had ever seen. I was supposed to account aboard and choose my crew via interviews.

A few of my gang was already onboard, my engineer, Jesse James Mitchell Penzo, and his wife, Leafa Tiski Mikia-Penzo were two of them. I had read their data file, they were solvent nut. She was also a Liskian, they were reputed to be a tough lot.

I had looked at the filing cabinet of over a M unpaid worker couples, I had to pick thirty. I had discovered something profound. to the highest degree multitude that wanted to go deep were nut pillow slip. These were no exceptions. The volunteers ran the stratagem from mad scientist to psycho killers. I was at a loss for anyone I trusted on a long flight of steps let alone wanted there.

I spent the next week interviewing wannabe ; it was the hard week of my liveliness. If it had not been for Millishia, I probably would have begged the full admiral to lawcourt marshal me. The next three solar day were spent choosing my crew and filing their new ranks. One thing nice about being a skipper of a deep ship, range onboard your ship was your option. You set the chain of command and the obligation roster. The sea captain was the first last and only line of business of mastery once you left the space port.

Four mean solar day later the mooring line lines fell away from the ship. My new helmsman only managed to hit the dry wharfage once on the way out. I now had an unseasoned bunch, a new ship with all the bugs inherent and two years to rick them into a functioning crew before we made our 1st planet fall.

***

Again I pulled myself out of my computer storage, that rock was very much bountiful. The countdown on the silver screen said thirty-one transactions. My mind started flying through the possibilities. I had to come up with an answer. I would not lose my ship and dictation after our first planet fall.

A architectural plan came to me. It would take some fancy flying. I hit the com unit in my hot seat."Jazz Hands, Prepare to disconnect all powerfulness on my command. Demoness, I need your pilotage skills, you have shuttle two, I have shuttle one, we launch in five."

malarky manpower came on the com social unit,"Captain we have to have power to do repairs, if you make me cut it off again it will take an time of day to completely restart the system."

"I know, James River, if what I have planned works I will buy you the time you need."

"And if it doesn't ?"

"Then it won't matter anymore, you don't have time to fix the ship before we make our second planet fall. Do me a favor, Jazz."

"What, sir ?"

"proceeds fear of my wife."I thumbed off the console and left the bridge before anyone could ask any doubt. I had a plan ; if it worked I would spare my ship. Either way I was going to die first.

I burst into shuttle bay one and walked aboard the shuttle. I could find out the com dealings as Demoness launched. I thumbed the com unit between the two bird to life."Demoness, I am going to fly this ship into send physical contact with the body of the Ticonderoga. Then I am going to have Jazz hand cut all world power. That should stop the thruster from firing. Once that is set I am going to fire up the engine in the shuttle and give her the gas. If this works I will block the ship by enough to break away the asteroid field."

"Sir, if you do that your locomotive engine will overheat and flame out in seconds. The inside of the birdie will be a one-half million degree fireball."

"That is where you come in. I am going to eject, I need you to scoop me up fast and get me clear. Get my body back for a decent funeral."

"You don't have a spacesuit, Pig, have you lost your thinker ?"

"I don't have metre to put a suit on ; if this is going to work I have to do it now."I shut off the com epithelial duct. It took me to a lesser extent than a minute of arc to stead my shuttle. I contacted Jazz deal,"Cut the power now !"Then I put the engine king to full phase of the moon and locked the throttle. The on instrument panel computer started telling me I was going to die.

"Imminent engine overload in twenty seconds. Imminent engine overload in nineteen second base. Imminent engine overload in eighteen seconds."I dove for the mastery for the projection system. I let all of the air out of my lungs and pulled the handle."arrangement detects non suited personnel, projection system disabled."

Fuck ! I pulled my English arm and shot the console table. Then I yanked the grip again, there was a mind numbing roar as the air exploded out of the ship. My head hit something solid a few seconds later and the world went dark. My concluding thought was,"fuck, that hurts."

***

"captain tomb, I do not await you to come back from this. I expect you to die a bloody and horrible death."admiral Tigrat said as I was in my hold up interview before launching."Do not let down me."

"Respectfully sir, my entire crew will be at your one hundredth birthday party. There I will sacrifice your wife and daughter a kiss right wing in front of you. How did you ever handle to get a ring on the finger of that fair sex ? She has to be at least xl days unseasoned than you."

***

My top dog was pounding out a rhythm that sounded like a hangover."Where ?"I managed to ask around the pain in my head.

"Med lab,"the immense yoke of breasts above me said quietly.

"How ?"

"Liskians are tougher than homo, she had the shuttle decompressed and waiting on your ejection. Once you flew onboard she put up the hand brake field of view and re-pressurized. You may have got a few aching and annoyance plus muzzy visual sense for a few days, but you will be fine soon."

"Melon's, what about the ship ?"

"The ship is out of danger and flying under its own major power again, maitre d'. You got us clear of the asteroids and bought him the time to fix the ship. By the time I let you out of here we will be fully working again."

"Tell Jazz deal and Demoness to take an extra relaxation bike, they even earned a nip of the solvent."

"Jazz flushed the residue of the resolvent out the airlock. He said any man that would do what you did to save up the ship deserves a sober mechanic. ”