Above Varak

Reina stood in the comms room, discussing her strategy with Captain Shalia Klav, leader of a pirate group called the Eclipse Queens.

Varak was populated by the Kruvuk, an alien race known for their large stature and incredible strength. Seeing them as ideal labor, Ronax had sent an Imperial **** to occupy the planet, and sent many Kruvuk to toil on their largest moon, which was a rich source of minerals. Imperial defenses on the planet centered around an imperial dreadnought, which, in most cases, was a formidable weapon. Fortunately, it was an imperial ship Shine was very familiar with. Chances were very high that she would be able to hack the massive ship and seize control of it. With the added firepower of the Eclipse Queens, there was a chance Reina could liberate the planet...

"Your crew's all female too?"

"Female pirates don't get much respect in this sector of the galaxy," Shalia explained. "Most ships don't even think about hiring a woman."

"Sounds like a lot of people I knew back home," Reina noted. "Same shit, different galaxy..."

"Still, it's not all bad. I've had my pick of the best woman pirates in this sector. Everybody in the Eclipse Queens has had to scratch and claw to survive, and we're damn good at what we do. So, are you ready?"

The battle had raged on for hours. The imperial fleet guarding Varak was a standard one guarding a planet; in most cases, they would make short work of any attacking forces, let alone a ragtag group of starfighters led by a pirate and some hotshot captain from who-knows-where.

Of course, this was no ordinary group of starfighters. Reina's crew had some of the absolute best female pilots from her galaxy, and Shalia's pirates counted some of the best from this galaxy's underworld. There was also the fact that the GCS Morrigan and her starfighters had the most advanced tech at the time of their intergalactic flight -- tech that was still cutting-edge in this galaxy -- and they had Shine, a brilliant AI, directing and coordinating their ships, and the rebellious starfighters had pulled off the impossible, not only routing the imperial fleet, but sucessfully disabling the massive dreadnought.

Commander Tyrv was furious. How did a small squadron of fighters knock an imperial dreadnought out of commission?

"Revenant Squad! What the hell is going on?"

"Commander! This fighter squad... it's like nothing we've ever seen! Their attacks, their coordination... It's like they can anticipate any move we make..."

"I don't want to hear your excuses! You've let a bunch of scumbag pirates take my dreadnought offline. If you lose to these vermin, your heads will all be on pikes tomorrow!"

A flash of static made its way across Tyrv's monitor, and an image of a gorgeous nude woman appeared.

"What the hell?"

"Yeah, Shine, what the hell?" Gear asked, sitting in front of her monitor aboard the Morrigan. She was staring at the screen to her left at the image Shine was now projecting... and shocked as she was, she liked what she saw.

"This is the image I have chosen to project upon communication, Gear. An avatar, if you will. What do you think of it? Do you not approve?"

Gear was flustered by the image, but hardly surprised. Somehow an AI seemed to have the dirtiest mind on the ship. "Um, it's a great avatar, but... it's a little inappropriate for contact with other ships, don't you think?"

"My apologies. I wished to show the most aesthetically pleasing image I could think of..."

"And that's great, Shine, it really is! It's just... maybe show it with some clothes on when contacting others."

"May I use the nude avatar within the confines of the Morrigan?" Shine asked, hoping for approval.

"Yeah, sure. I don't think anyone onboard would mind," Gear said, seriously understating how much the Morrigan's crew enjoyed gorgeous women without their clothes on.

"Understood. Thank you for explaining the proper communications protocol," Shine said, clothes appearing on her avatar.

"CAN SOMEONE EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" Tyrv yelled.

"Oh, that's right. My name is Shine, onboard AI for the GCS Morrigan. As you know, my crew has disabled your dreadnought. In addition, I have assumed control of your communication systems. My captain has instructed me to request your surrender..."

Tyrv was defiant. "You obviously don't know who you're talking to. I don't surrender."

Reina sighed. "Well, I tried. Shine, what can you do with that dreadnought's comms system?"

"This ship's communications system is designed to broadcast across the entire planet. While I am currently in the process of accessing control to the rest of the ship, I have full control of the communications, and have been able to successfully lock their escape pods. With the ship offline, the dreadnought is essentially useless to them."

"Beautiful! If you had a body, Shine, I'd kiss you. Can you broadcast a message planetside?"

Shine made sure to archive Reina's comment. She'd become increasingly interested in obtaining a body to download herself into, and that was some pretty good motivation.

"Affirmative, Captain. I will begin the broadcast as soon as you're ready."

"Let's do it," Reina stepped forward to the communications equipment. "Imperials, this is Captain Reina Startooth of the GCS Morrigan. We and our pirate allies have come to liberate the planet of Varak from Imperial control. We have disabled your dreadnought, and offer you this chance to retreat. If there is any resistance against the Imperials on Varak, we're here to help. Imperial prisoners, we're here to free you."

"Mind if I add something to your little message?" Shalia chimed in, having maintained contact with the Morrigan from the Silver Star throughout the battle.

"By all means," Reina agreed.

"Varak, this is Captain Shalia Klav, leader of the Eclipse Queens. As I speak, my fleet has taken out the outposts guarding mines on your moon, and is now liberating prisons planetwide. I know your planet has a healthy resistance -- I would highly recommend joining up with them. People of Varak, this is your opportunity. Together we can drive Ronax's forces from your planet."

"You heard the woman. Now's the time to take your planet back. Captain Startooth out," Reina concluded. She brought Shalia up on the large comms screen. "Damn, your crew works fast."

"Damn right they do -- they're my girls," Shalia nodded. "We're the best fucking pirate crew in the galaxy, even if nobody knows it yet."

"You'll get no arguments from me," Reina nodded back. She might have been unfamiliar with this galaxy's pirate crews, but she'd dealt with plenty in her own, and the Eclipse Queens were as good as any of them. Probably better. "That was quite the message you gave. I didn't figure you for the altruistic type..."

"Some of us pirates do have a code of honor, you know," Shalia mentioned. "Still, we're not a charity. Speaking of which, that dreadnought would look mighty good in the Eclipse Queen fleet..."

"I see. Well, if they're successful, Varak's resistance is going to need that dreadnought to defend itself against the imperials in the immediate future," Reina noted. "But I'm sure we can come to some sort of an agreement."

At that moment, another voice joined in over the comms system. "Excuse me? Is this the GCS Morrigan?"

"This is Captain Reina Startooth, who am I speaking to?"

"I'm one of the leaders of the Varak resistance. The planet's gone crazy since your message, and I mean that in a good way! I'm getting reports of prisons being smashed by pirate bombers, mutinies against imperial forces... we're overwhelmed right now by people looking to join us. Any chance you and your pirate friend could come down here and meet us?"

Zav'ra, who had been quietly sitting in the comms room working with Nyra monitoring the Morrigan's starfighters, recognized the voice coming from the communicator, and could hardly believe it. "Imara? Is that you?"

"Zav'ra...? That's impossible..."

"You two know each other?" Reina asked, curious to learn about this resistance leader.

Zav'ra collected her thoughts and, still reeling from shock, began to speak.

"Reina, the resistance leader... she's Emperor Ronax's sister."

_Damn, _Reina thought, now I'm really excited to meet this resistance leader...