Ticonderoga - Episode 1 : Adrift

Cast of Characters ;

***

Name : Phillip Irving Steffi Graf

social rank : headwaiter - commanding officer

Call Sign : Pig

account : He was born on old ground in the area known as the western district of North America. As a youth he was a problem Divine this, being virtually unheard of in his century, forced the military to deal with him. He was given a choice. connect the United Planets peace keeping and research military force or be remanded for mental conditioning to fix his behavioral problems. His career in the armed forces was a great example of how not to advance. After XX years he was still only a piddling officer tierce category. That was when he was caught pulling off his worst infraction yet. Fleet admiral Tigrat caught him in bed with his wife, and both of his daughters, at the same metre. Phillip was doomed to go back to stem rank again. But instead the admiral made him an whirl. happen a wife, get promoted to captain, with a ship, and go deep.

description : He is six foot tall, with jet black hair and Robert Brown optic. His physical structure type is thin and mesomorphic with tan skin tone.

Mate : Mrs. Millishia Jaunu Steppen-Graves

***

public figure : Mrs. Millishia Jaunu Steppen-Graves

Rank : Commander - Ships scientific discipline officer and fourth in statement

Call mansion : marihuana

chronicle : She was born a simple farm miss in the middle west Territories of due north America. She led an emblematic biography, with no problems, until she came of age. Then she found she had a mouthful for bad boy. To try and curb her appetite for ego destructive conduct, she joined the service. Her life history was in upright guild and she was happy after five years but she longed to go deep. The only problem was you had to be married and no one was asking. There was also the problem of Phillip ; she thought he was just dreamy. He was everything she wanted in a bad boy, but his life history meant he would never even manage to prepare it into quad. She only had one more rank to go then she could go. That would contract another six month. Then she was broadsided by a query she never thought any man would ask."will you marry me I need a wife before I can go deep ?"

Description : She is a five groundwork six inch tall, blonde haired, blue eyed beauty, with metier sized breast. Her body stylus is lithe and athletic.

Mate : Phillip Irving Graves

***

name : James River John Mitchell Penzo

Rank : master copy Chief Petty military officer - tribal chief engineer and mechanic.

Call Sign : idle words hands

History : He was born on the emerald islet of European Community. He was a good kid and went to college. After school he joined the Service to set up a little nest egg. There he met his married woman and fell in dearest. He had a bright calling ahead of him, and then everything hit the fan. He discovered the medicinal effects of the locomotive dissolver. Just a niggling nip of it could realise any man glad. He stayed well-chosen a lot after that. When he was found out, he was offered a choice, military legal separation or he and his wife go deep.

description : He is five foot eight inch marvelous with dark park eyes and John Brown hair. His body eccentric is thick with just a tenuous fifth wheel tire.

spouse : Leafa Tiski Mikia-Penzo

***

Name : Mrs. Leafa Tiski Mikia-Penzo

rank and file : Senior honcho petty larceny military officer - chieftain of off ship security.

song Sign : Demoness

History : She was born on her native world of Liskia. She is strong and fast and excelled in her career as military machine police, until her husband introduced her to the solvent. Everything still worked well for them until she was called out on an exigency while she was extremely happy. Six week later she boarded her new vessel, The UP Ticonderoga.

description : She is six foundation two in tall. Her subspecies has red cutis and pilus with fire up grey heart. Many people say they look like the mythical demons, right down to the two tuft of fuzz on their foreheads that resembled horns. Her body type is thinly and lissom with a fountainhead defined muscle tone.

better half : James John Mitchell Penzo

***
Name : Malcolm Leroy Libbshitz

social rank : Lieutenant junior class - xeno-biologist.

birdcall Sign : Buster

History : He is a indigen of cusk, a human colony, joined the help to go deep, he wanted the animation of an explorer, he was also married and his wife joined at the Same fourth dimension looking to ship out with him. He is an expert in xeno-botany and xeno-zoology and loves to study new species of both flora and creature.

verbal description : He is five fundament eight in marvellous with mousy blond tomentum and down eyes. His dead body character is thin and non muscular.

Mate : Melonie Michelle Russel-Libbshitz

***

public figure : Melonie Michelle Russel-Libbshitz

membership : deputy Jr level - ships doctor.

call option Sign : Melons

chronicle : She is a native of Ling, a man settlement, and was married to her college smasher. She joined the serve to go deep with him.

Description : She is five foot six column inch tall with platinum blonde tomentum and very large tit. He body type is voluptuous.

Mate : Malcolm Leroy Libbshitz

***

Name : Lorka Dumont Willock

membership : commander - Security military officer, instant in command.

shout mansion : wad

History : He is a Tithian warrior. Born on Tithia and joined the service to get a prospect to do engagement in this time of peace. He is very pop with the ladies because his wash believes that making love child's play should be as tender as war is violent.

Description : At well over seven feet tall and four century and fifty pounds of self-colored sinew he is by far the largest member of the crew, except for his married woman. His Joseph Black hide looks like a dark cum to liveliness. The only break in his duskiness is his red eyes.

married person : Tanka Lundt Cravis-Willock

***

Name : Tanka Lundt Cravis-Willock

Rank : air force officer - arm officeholder, tierce in command

shout mark : Mount Everest

History : She is a female person Tithian warrior. She joined the service with her married man, in the hope of finding battle. She is a infantry taller than her husband, and a hell of a lot meaner.

verbal description : She is eight animal foot four in tall with tincture black skin and red eyes. Her body type is extremely muscular.

teammate : Lorka Dumont Willock


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

I stared at the blank thought blind in presence of me. My ship had been adrift for three days. There was only one problem when you were deep ; there was no one to aid when you hit trouble. The near ship to us was two calendar month travel away. It had taken us two years to get this far out.

"Going bass"is a euphemism for getting lost. We were sent out here to happen habitable major planet that we could colonise or resourcefulness we could mine for. The fun percentage, the rule say the outset crewman to set foot on a planet gets to advert the satellite.

The unite races had managed to colonize or mining bivouac every rock for sixty Light Within years around earth. We were one hundred and twenty out. It took about a year to travel threescore illumination years with the snort drive as it was called. It got its epithet 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 multiplication the speeding of light. The problem right now is our snorter had a stopped up nose.

I thumbed the communications control board on my president to living."Jazz hands, What the hell is taking so long down there ? If you are nipping at the solvent again I'm going to take you off of fill-in rotation for two week."

"Not a hazard, Pig, I am trying to bushel the damn damage those cockbiter scab did to the engine wiring. The fucking lilliputian beasties chewed through every brightness wire in the principal fire ascendance cabinet."

"How long before we have railway locomotive power again ?"

"Another day at least, we have over a grand wires to exchange 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 rotary motion !"

"maitre d', even if I get this repaired that is no guarantee we will be able-bodied to move. We have no theme what else they damaged before we could toss off the little mongrel. Go occupy a fill-in severance and let me do my damn job."

I stalked off of the bridge. The damn lifts were down so I had to climb down the approach ravel to get to the bunch decks. I guess we could send for ourselves lucky ; those little vermin had not reached the lifespan support equipment yet. XX cockbiter rats had managed to chew through our main world power ascendancy, lift dominance system of rules, helm control interlink, navigation, and engine flack control in to a lesser extent than twenty four hours. Twenty stinkpot had crippled a ship, with crew of one hundred people on plank. Only luck knows what else was damaged. idle words Hands was right I needed emphasis relief ; it was time to head to the crowd lounge.

There is a major set of rules about going deep. The first one is all work party penis must be mated mates. The second rule is all kinship are open on the ship. When off duty staff office need tension relievo any off duty person of the opposite sex is usable to them, unless they are in their kip Hz. Any Saami sex involvement are not forbidden but are open to be refused. Your quarters were kept monogamous, only you and your spouse enjoyed that location. The waiting room is where you go to dress liaisons with other crew member. That is also where the"training"rooms are. There is one for just about every gustatory perception, from the pleasant to the downright kinky.

Rank has its privilege as well. bidding ship's officer are allowed to involve stress respite during tariff if there is no pressing need for their attentions. As of right wing now, there was no pressing need for me. I could not command this ship to move if I were a god.

I no sooner walked into the lounge when Melonie saw me and came over. I knew what she was after, she loved my oral exam technique."Need some accent relief, captain ?"

"At least a calendar week's worth, Melons."I said as I took her by the arm and guided her towards the bar."I believe the dame is drinking a atomic number 27 breaker, and I would enjoy a calum tea."I told the bartender as I caressed melons stomach. I always enjoyed her very bombastic white meat and today would be no exception.

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

"That sounds like a wonderful approximation,"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 make believe it bet like we were in the cloud. I had seen enough virtuoso already today. All of them stars I couldn't reach. We attached the hat to our glasses so our swallow would not drift out and then I touched the activate clitoris. Watching her titty suddenly float upward as the gravity stopped was an amazing kickshaw. We floated in the air together as I started to discase her. As was monetary standard when in the couch, her article of clothing was childlike and easy to remove. She wore a slipover shirt and miniskirt with no panties on underneath. Her shoes were uncomplicated slippers very comfortable and quite attractive. The flimsy inactive tutelage caused by pulling her shirt over her point caused her hair to stomach out like a hallo of platinum blond silk. By a lot of standard this cleaning woman would be considered overweight. She weighed about twenty British pound sterling over apotheosis free weight for her five foot six inch soma. To me the extra softness just made her voluptuous.

Once her wearing apparel were floating around the room like cast off plumage, she started to undress me. My uniform was a little more complicate to remove. It was a problematical button up pant and shirt, with a jacket over it, all in pitch blackness. The shoes were fine-tune flawlessness in black natural leather. Underneath it all was my regulation underwear, also ignominious. Add the black gray belt ammunition and dresser bandolier as well as my skipper's hat to the whole thing and I looked like a civilize monkey. Soon all of these clothes were floating around the room as well.

I pulled melon to me and began to kiss the cutis of her neck and pectus. This elicited several moans of delight. Her pegleg wrapped around my stomach and squeezed me hard enough to be slightly irritating. She began to twist her hips rubbing her pert bottom on the top of my cock. I was very tempted to take what she was offering right then but I had other musical theme. Zero-G has one really advantage to making eff on any surface. I guided her legs out from around me as she pouted with those good lips that were just made for what I had in judgement. Once she was free I spun her in the air and brought her legs around to my face. There in front of my eyes was a small landing strip show of Pt blond fuzz that pointed right to the objective of my desire. I moved my head forward and inhaled the redolence of her foreplay. With deliberate slowness I extended my clapper and began to spend a penny small circles through that sweet landing striptease.

I felt her mouth as she started to lick and kiss along the shaft of my stopcock. Her mouth and lips were delicious warmth on my skin. The trembling of her moans made my turncock jump and twitch as I touched the tip of my glossa to her clit and flipped it quickly back and forth. I nearly forgot what I was doing when I felt my rooster lantern slide down her throat. She was so politic and hot on the inside. I moved both of my bridge player around her delightful prat and started wetting my fingers in the honey flowing from her tight cunt. When I felt her legs starting to tighten around my head, I slid two fingers from one hand into her stiff puss. My middle finger of my other script pushed into her silky asshole. I started pumping my fingers in and out of her at different stop number. 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 vibrate against my chest. Then her stage slammed shut on my head like a clamp. Her menstruum 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 length of my sway hard shaft into her from tooshie. She let out a moan that was bordering on a sidesplitter. I began to pound with all my might as we floated in the air. Then we both arched our cover as we thundered into our orgasms together.

Ten instant later we left the floaty room freshly showered. As we exited the room, I set the control to clean 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 unscathed ship lurched and then vibrated with a groan that sounded like it was dying.

I slapped the communications panel at the room access."malarky Hands, are we moving ?"

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

"What do you mean any More ?"

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

"Security I want every one of those damn rat killed again."

"Sir, we have no weapons control, would you like my married woman and I to throw rocks at their floating corpses ?"great deal said back facetiously.

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

"How soon, Jazz Hands ?"

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

"You always say a day. I want this damn ship moving under its own power by end of cycle or I am going to give you to Everest and good deal as a target dope !"

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

"No, and I am looking for your married woman right now, so strike it."

As I moved back to the bridge my mind wandered back to the events that led up to this berth. We had found a planet with no beacon on it. It was undiscovered. Scans showed it to be a lush oxygen full-bodied planet with plant life and carnal liveliness abundant on the surface and in the seas. I organized a landing party to investigate the surface.

***

The company, consisting of ganja, Demoness, Buster, melon vine, mount and myself, left the ship in a shuttle. several orbital passes and scans later we determined a robust domain to land and investigate.

It was a soft touchdown nothing at all out of the ordinary. There was the throw together for positions to see who could make it through the door first. I had to laugh as the door slid back and my wife muscled mint out of the way. I walked down the ramp to see my wife dancing in a theater of operations of penis. Yes I said that right, all of the plants in the area were dead maybe twelve in grandiloquent and shaped like that portion of the male figure.

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 aspect at the flowers made me reckon I had lost it. They looked like pink phallus with two chunk hanging underneath them. I thought it was pretty earmark that my married woman would get to appoint a populace covered in penis shaped plant life.

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

"So plant the beacon, give it a epithet and register it. The beacon will send back the information via inadequate space."I said as I walked down and resisted the urge to sense any of the flowers.

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

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

"It does sustain a certain menacing presence doesn't it ?"

broncobuster was the showtime one to see an brute. It was floating gently on the picnic towards one of the trees. It had vauntingly flat backstage with bladder underneath them. These bladders probably contain some gas lightsome than the air around us. By paddling its feet it would move through the air like a duck's egg swam across the body of water. As we watched it swam up to one of the tree diagram and put its sassing around one of the heyday. A few seconds later it left the flower hanging limply from its base and moved to another bloom. One by one it drained the"ambrosia"out of the squiffy flowers leaving them flaccid.

"We need a couple of those shuttle on the ship,"buster said as we watched."I bet we could charter them back to UP infinite and sell them for a fortune."

"Get some sample distribution for study, we will stay overnight and take everything back in the morning."I told Buster and his married woman. They set about collecting works and animal samples. They caught one of the razz but it died in less than an hr in the batting cage. They must demand to eat constantly.

Buster gave me a report a mates hours later. The flowers on the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree produced nectar that made the gibe stiff. When the vesica Winged Cocksucker Birds would suckle at the flower they would evacuate out the nectar and take some of the pollen away on their mouth. Those moving from blossom to flower accomplished dressing for the industrial plant. The limp flower would take about an hour to return a full lode of ambrosia again. There were various former fauna and plants that he reported on.
My wife had decided to shout out this post, appropriately enough, pecker's World.

As even started to darken the skies we saw various, rat like, wight come out of muddle in the soil. They started to climb up the trees. We watched as they moved to the conclusion of the limb and bit the bloom off the trees and ate them. Every man in the group cringed watching this. I think stack even turned a slight pale. These creature quickly became known as cockbiter stinkpot. Buster thought they wouldn't sell well.

Our sensor could not detect any fauna larger than the boo within five century clicks of us so we bedded down in the bird for the night.

I awoke the adjacent morning and shook Demoness awake next to me. She smiled as I retrieved two cup of umber from the energy solidifier. I looked around and noticed all of the others had already moved outside. buster must feature awoken my wife when he got up to discipline his traps.

We got dressed and moved outside. Buster was studying a cage of 20 of the cockbiter rats he had captured during the night. They seemed a bit hardier than the birds. I oversaw the sampling being packed in over crateful to be taken back to the scientific discipline lab on the ship. Then we did a low level fly over of the planet to take scans and images of the plant life 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 sampling. I tried to secernate Buster to wee-wee sure enough the crates were in the lab containment area before he opened them, but I was too late. He popped the latch on the rat crateful and rats exploded out and ran all over the deck. It took LE than a bit for them all to disappear down an candid memory access hatch. They had chewed through the plasteel of the cage, this should have warned me of what was about to happen.

"Do not open any former crates !"I yelled."At least we don't have any member flowers here for them to eat. I want them all caught and then you are to see me in the control office, Buster."

"Yes sir,"he said with a gulp.

I stalked to the span to get my status report card. That fanatic science geek had let stinkpot loose on my ship. I was on the bridge deck receiving my report when the first-class honours degree sign of trouble happen. The piloting screen went blank. We were suddenly flying subterfuge."Navigation, what the the pits are you doing over there ?"

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

"Helm control, bring us to total hitch, now !"I shouted as I stood from my chairman. Suddenly my ship lurched and I fell on my aspect."Damn it, helm, you can't just cut the engines, 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 panel on my chair."engineering science ! Report ! What the infernal region are you doing down there ? You can't cut links while we are in trajectory !"

malarky helping hand came on the intercom,"Sir we didn't do anything. When the seafaring money box went power darkness, we opened the panel and stinkpot came running out. How the hell did we get blackleg on the ship ?"

We all heard the throbbing of the engines wind down as they shut themselves down."All workforce find those female parent fucking rats and kill them ! Now ! security, issue inducers to everyone with fingers. interlace them all on stun, we don't want any chance event. I will give everyone that stuns a rat an redundant relaxation cycle."

Turning to our tactical station,"Everest, take us to alarm status."She thumbed the alarm system organisation on her console to on.

The xanthous admonition light on the ship came to spirit. The computers voice could be heard all over the ship as she said,"Alert, all personnel are to maintain alerting Statuuuuuuuussssssssss…"Then the warning lights went out and the bridge went dark.

***

I shook myself out of my reverie as I entered the bridge deck. The first affair I noticed was the view blind was no longer blank shell. It now showed a large, heavy star-shaped field, and we were moving towards it slowly."Mt. Everest, give me a situation report."

"We are drifting towards the star-shaped force field at approximately fifteen hundred kilometers per arcsecond. Estimated clip to entrance into the field is six hours."

"Bring our shield and targeting online. Get the artilleryman in their Stations and secernate them we may need to let a little target practice."

"The gunners are reporting to stations, but the weapons links are all still down, we have no torpedo. The shields are on but we can not discover if they are working."

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

"Yes, sir."

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

Activating the communicating in my chairperson I called down to engineering science."malarkey Hands establish me some right news. Please."

"Pig, I promise you I will sustain the helm control and inertial controls back on rail line in eight time of day. My people are working around the clock."

"That is good news, now I have some outstanding tidings for you. In six hours you will no longer accept to worry about repairing the ship. Those big rocks out there are going to fetch up the job those skunk started. At the stop number we are traveling one of those rocks is going to release this ship into slag."

"Do you know a skillful diversionist inspection and repair that may be in the sphere ?"

"We are sending the shuttle out."

I thumbed off the com panel."baby, give me some sound news."

marijuana spoke without looking away from her console."We have an estimated impact prison term of seven hours and four minutes. Then we are going to be landing on a large asteroid dead ahead. We are caught in the solemnity well of that large gas giant on the former face of the field. I am running the calculations on the shuttles now."

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

I stared at the view screen that I now wished was vacuous again. My brain started to drift back to the lowlife again.

***

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

Our group split up into pairs. I was teamed with Demoness, our plan was simple ; actuate about the ship opening access panels. If anything ran out pull the trigger and stun it. I noticed mountain had put on his ceremony armour for the hunt. It had a thick codpiece for protection down there.

Chatter over our helmet com was kept to a lower limit. Demoness opened the initiative control board, it was to life support. There was zippo. We moved to the airlift mastery panel. When I opened it there was an explosion of fur and teeth. Then there was unbelievable pain as I was hit by the blast from the inducer. tinker's damn I am glad it was set to stun.

I woke up in the medical lab with a Brobdingnagian couplet of breasts hovering over my nerve."Hi, Melons,"I mumbled as I shook my promontory to clear it."Did we at least manage to get one of the bum ?"

"Demoness caught four of them, and bagged a maitre d' with only four shots."melon said as she leaned to search past her breasts and into my face.

"tinker's damn ! That hurt."I could see Demoness out of the corner of my eye."Why did you shoot me ?"

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

"melon vine's dear, would you please hired hand me my inducer ; I want to picture Demoness just how little they hurt."As Melon's looked at me with big middle, Demoness quietly slipped out of the room. I reached over for the com panel next to the bed."Buster, tell me some good news."

"My retirement account is up fifty thousand."

"Don't worry, if you don't stop the rats you are not going to need a retirement invoice, now what about the so-and-so ?"

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

"In two hr they are going to eat every visible radiation telegram in the ship. How do we stop them ?"

"The exclusively matter I know is they are attracted to the sparkle wire because they glow on the same wavelength in ultra violet as the efflorescence do. As to why they are attracted to them."

I jumped out of the bed and headed for engineering science. Mountain was in the foyer."Get every marksman armed with rifles and meet me in engineering. We are going to bear an old fashioned turkey shoot."

mint headed off to gather men and cleaning lady. I went to engineering."Jazz Hands, get over here, I have an idea."

"Yes sir,"St. James said as he ran up."Sir we are really busy trying to repair the equipment casualty. Can this expect ?"

"No. How long would it admit to get a pile of spare light conducting wire in the shopping mall of engineering and bond it to the main generator ?"

"About XX minutes."

"You have ten, I also want the independent link from the author to the sleep of the ship ready to disconnect on my command."

"You want us to shift to the backup ?"

"No I want powerfulness cut completely. We need to get all the outer doors closed and all of the lift shafts shut down."

"The ski tow are no problem the rat chewed them up about 15 minutes ago. The KO'd door may be a problem. The main shuttlecock bay doors are stuck loose and the observation window in the forward mapmaking lab is non-operational."

"Evacuate those field, tell everyone they have twenty minute of arc to procure everything and get out. We are going to bait a trap for the rats."

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

"We are facing a superior enemy, in an unsung tactical billet. We are completely defenseless now. If the squealer continue at this rate we will cause no ship in twelve minute. It is sentence to do a close point of view. The rats are attracted to the light telegram so we will give way them the merely batch of glowing conducting wire on the ship to come for. Now get them set up or I am going to string up you from the bow of the ship like a figurehead."

"Yes sir."

I moved to the upper berth balcony, as the others started to gain. I set mass up in positions so we had full reportage of the applied science deck below. The flock of telegram was a center of flack anything that moved was a object."All right mass there are sixteen of these rats to pop. I want everyone's artillery set to overkill. We can not afford for a one rat to escape this trap."

As I took my position as the endure of the personnel left the abject level. Then the Inner Light went out. It was such a long wait. But after almost an minute the first rat came out of an admission hachure and started moving toward the telegram. He was hit by the ray of over twoscore arm. The small bastard was nothing but a lump of charcoal.

It took about an hour for the crumb to protrude showing up. It took twenty proceedings for the concluding one to fall. I stood and hit the com panel. It was utter like everything else."Jazz hands, lets get the system rebooted and repairs started."

***

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

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

"Reduce the magnification to ten times."

"It is already at ten times, sir."

"Shit ! How big is that thing ?"

"It is four thousand kilometre long by two thousand wide."

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

"Definitely, sir."

"How is the endeavour to exchange our grade with the shuttles going ?"

"Not just, sir, the posture correction honey oil are firing and locking us on course."

"Bring them back in. We are going to need the shuttles along with the life-time gravy holder to evacuate."I looked at the screen. My heart sank. This was not exactly how I had envisioned ending my command. If we made it back alive we would get full purity and retreat benefits as admiral. My mind drifted back to the day I had been informed of my choices.

***

"petit larceny police officer third gear year Phillip Irving Robert Graves, reporting as place sir."I said as I walked into full admiral Tigrat's post. He looked up at me with a diddlysquat eating grin on his side. He motioned with his helping hand for me to sit and be at ease.

"Phillip, I am at a loss for what to do with you. If I press bang then everyone in the fleet is going to know what you did. If I don't mechanical press commission then you get off Scott free and I can not let that happen either."He looked at me with open up hatred in his eyes.

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

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

"Sir, I am not married."I knew the track record, not s individual ship had ever come back from going deep. Most disappeared without a trace. He was consigning me to a death sentence. My own statement weighed clayey on my mind. I had always thought I could do it break than any of these boaster. Out there I would be the voice of dominance. I would be the only program line string. The dollar bill would stop with me.

"You have until the end of the month to witness a married woman or I will prefer one for you."

The smile he gave me had me thinking through the women I knew. I sure as infernal region would not let him decide. Then Millishia came to listen, she was one hell of a skill military officer. Her career was golden. Maybe I could get one over on the old ass in nominal head of me yet."Do I get to take my crew ?"

"You will be given a list of volunteers for thick service. You may choose thirty couple from it. The early nineteen dyad I will choose. I already have one of your applied scientist and doctors picked out. Plus a couple of protection people you will just love."

"Do normal deep rules apply ?"

"Yes, the ship must run efficiently."

Millishia and I were married a week later, we saw the ship for the 1st time a seven days after that.

The Ticonderoga was a thing of beauty, long and satiny with four railway locomotive nacelles under her body pram. She hung in space like a phantom, the rib of the shipyard human body surrounding her. The long specify body looked like an pointer with atmospherical stabilizer on the rear half. The large-minded question of the arrow was where the command decks sat. The slightly across-the-board soundbox was the crew area. Under the chief consistence hung technology and aesculapian. She was designed to cut through blank space like a weapon. She was one of the sexy affair I had ever seen. I was supposed to report aboard and select my crew via interviews.

A few of my crew was already onboard, my engine driver, James Mitchell Penzo, and his wife, Leafa Tiski Mikia-Penzo were two of them. I had read their file, they were solution freak. She was also a Liskian, they were reputed to be a tough lot.

I had looked at the files of over a grand Volunteer couples, I had to beak thirty. I had discovered something profound. virtually mass that wanted to go cryptic were nut typeface. These were no exclusion. The Tennessean ran the gambit from mad scientist to psycho killers. I was at a loss for anyone I trusted on a retentive flight let alone wanted there.

I spent the adjacent workweek interviewing hopefuls ; it was the hardest week of my life sentence. If it had not been for Millishia, I probably would have begged the admiral to court marshal me. The adjacent three daylight were spent choosing my crew and filing their new ranks. One thing nice about being a sea captain of a abstruse ship, rank onboard your ship was your choice. You set the chain of command and the duty roster. The headwaiter was the initiative last and only contrast of command once you left the space port.

Four Day later the mooring rail line fell away from the ship. My new helmsman only managed to hit the dry wharfage once on the way out. I now had an untested crew, a new ship with all the bugs underlying and two years to turn them into a functioning gang before we made our commencement planet fall.

***

Again I pulled myself out of my memory board, that rock was much liberal. The countdown on the screen door said thirty-one second. My thinker started flying through the opening. I had to do up with an reply. I would not lose my ship and bid after our outset planet fall.

A programme came to me. It would convey some fancy flying. I hit the com whole in my professorship."jazz Hands, Prepare to disconnect all power on my command. Demoness, I need your piloting skills, you have shuttle two, I have shuttle one, we launch in five."

Jazz Hands came on the com unit,"Captain we have to have power to do fix, if you make me cut it off again it will adopt an hr to completely restart the system."

"I know, James, if what I have planned works I will buy you the clip 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 major planet fall. Do me a favour, Jazz."

"What, sir ?"

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

I burst into birdie bay one and walked aboard the shuttle. I could hear the com dealings as Demoness launched. I thumbed the com building block between the two shuttles to life."Demoness, I am going to fly this ship into calculate middleman with the body of the Ticonderoga. Then I am going to experience malarkey work force cut all mightiness. That should stop the thruster from firing. Once that is set I am going to displace up the engines in the shuttle and leave her the gas. If this works I will fend off the ship by enough to head for the hills the star-shaped field."

"Sir, if you do that your engine will overheat and flame out in instant. The interior of the shuttle will be a 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 decently funeral."

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

"I don't have time to put a suit of clothes on ; if this is going to work I have to do it now."I shut off the com channel. It took me lupus erythematosus than a minute to stance my shuttlecock. I contacted Jazz hands,"Cut the world power now !"Then I put the engine might to full and locked the gas pedal. The on board reckoner started telling me I was going to die.

"Imminent engine overload in twenty irregular. Imminent engine overload in nineteen seconds. Imminent engine overload in 18 seconds."I dove for the controller for the forcing out organization. I let all of the air out of my lungs and pulled the handle."organization detects non suited personnel, ejection system disabled."

Fuck ! I pulled my side arm and shot the console. Then I yanked the grip again, there was a head numbing roar as the air exploded out of the ship. My head hit something solid a few minute later and the creation went night. My last intellection was,"fuck, that hurts."

***

"maitre d'hotel Graves, I do not await you to derive back from this. I expect you to die a bloody and horrible death."admiral Tigrat said as I was in my hold up consultation before launch."Do not disappoint me."

"Respectfully sir, my entire bunch will be at your one hundredth birthday company. There I will give your wife and daughters a osculate rightfield in front of you. How did you ever finagle to get a ring on the finger of that woman ? She has to be at to the lowest degree forty years untried than you."

***

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

"Med lab,"the huge pair of breasts above me said quietly.

"How ?"

"Liskians are baffling than humankind, she had the shuttle decompressed and waiting on your ejection. Once you flew onboard she put up the parking brake fields and re-pressurized. You may own a few ache and pains plus dim vision for a few days, but you will be alright soon."

"Melon's, what about the ship ?"

"The ship is out of peril and flying under its own mogul again, captain. You got us clear of the asteroids and bought him the time to fix the ship. By the fourth dimension I let you out of here we will be fully working again."

"Tell malarky Hands and Demoness to take an excess liberalization cycle, they even earned a nip of the solvent."

"wind flushed the sleep of the solvent out the airlock. He said any man that would do what you did to save the ship deserves a sober auto-mechanic. ”