Chapter VI: The Hunted!

"Rick, who could it be?" cried Jamie.

Rick shook his head and aimed the rifle towards the opening hatchway. No pirates were going to take them without a fight. The door continued to cycle open, and then stopped as it reached its operational limits. Rick remained poised to shoot the first pirate head that popped around the edge of the hatch, but after total silence for two minutes, Rick started feeling a little ignored. 'Where are they? Why haven't they appeared to drag us out of the pod?' thought Rick. There was no sound to answer his question coming from the darkness.

Slowly, keeping the rifle barrel pointed in front of him, Rick extended his head through the hatchway and looked around. The emergency lights of the pod only illuminated the immediate area. Rick couldn't see past a meter. Mental images of hordes of pirates hiding in the darkness caused Rick to break out in a cold sweat. He could feel a bead of sweat trickle down his spine, causing him to shiver slightly. His mouth felt dry, and he repressed the urge to cough.

"Well?" Jamie's sudden question startled Rick, causing him to bang his head on the hatchway.

"Ouch." Rick rubbed the top of his head. "I don't see anyone."

"Who opened the door then?"

"Dunno. It's too dark to see anything out here. See if there's a light some. . ." Rick's voice trailed off as the cargo bay became illuminated. It wasn't a sudden burst of light. Rather the lights started off dim, and brightened, allowing his vision to adjust without blinding him. The light revealed a small chamber, only about five meters long and three wide. The escape pod filled a third of the space, and the open pod door faced the remaining free space. "Never mind."

Jamie poked her head out. "What happened?"

Rick looked at the bay for a second. It looked slightly familiar, and then he began to laugh. He laid the rifle against the wall. "It's safe. Come on out."

Jamie looked suspicious as she exited the pod. "Where are we?"

Rick clicked his heels and bowed. "Welcome to my ship." Then he grabbed her and swung her around.

Jamie pushed herself away from him. "I thought we left your ship back at Earth?"

Rick shrugged. "I thought it got left behind too. I don't know how it's here or why it picked us up, but here we are."

"Who else is on this ship?" asked Jamie.

"I don't know. I was the only one aboard. It can only hold two people. If they're real friendly," smiled Rick. "Someone else could be on board, and if they are, they would be on the bridge. This way, my fair damsel." Rick waved her towards the exit hatch. She went over to the hatchway and pressed the open button. It flashed red, and the panel remained closed.

"Rick, it's locked."

"Let me see. I didn't think I locked it." Rick went over and pressed the open button. It flashed green, and opened to reveal the narrow central corridor. Rick glanced both ways down the corridor, and there was still no sign of another being aboard the ship.

"How did you do it?" asked Jamie.

Rick shrugged. "Dunno. The ship's a new design, and I haven't had the time to figure it all out yet. Come on. The bridge is this way." Rick entered the corridor and headed up towards the front.

Rick entered the bridge, and took the left hand of the two seats. Jamie followed and got into the right chair. "This is a bridge? Looks more like a fighter cockpit," commented Jamie.

"It's a new interceptor that just came out of the labs. They gave it to me for testing."

Jamie's eyes widened. "Wow. You must be one of the best for the Stellar Patrol to give you a prototype."

Rick turned and smiled at her. "Actually, I just graduated. I think they gave it to me because they expect it to explode or something." Rick turned his attention back to his readouts. "This is really strange. The automatic flight systems have been activated and the ship has a sensor lock on the pirate's ship. We're still following the ship. I had everything in stand down mode when I left to check out the satellite."

"Could the Patrol turn it on by remote control?" asked Jamie.

"Possibly, but they didn't know about the pirate ship anymore than I did." Rick ran a few checks, and after a few minutes, noticed that Jamie was sitting still in her seat, staring out the viewport. All the consoles at her station were dark. "Hey, there's a small cabin down the corridor. If you want, you can get freshened up. I think there's a couple of ship suits you can wear. They'll be big on you, but you won't have to wear that rag anymore. This place isn't as comfortable as the pirate's ship."

Jamie smiled and kissed Rick on the cheek as she stood up. "It's a lot better, if only because it's not that pirate ship. Thanks, Rick." She started to leave and paused, one hand on the hatchway. "Will the cabin door open for me?"

Rick checked the security status screen. "Yes it will. Apparently just the ship's exits, controls, and power centers are keyed to me."

"Thanks." Jamie left and the hatch closed behind her. The right hand console, which had been dark, came on and began displaying ship's status reports.

Rick looked at the console in confusion. "Why in heck did it do that?" He paged through the operation manual, and started reading everything about ship operations.

Three hours later, Rick yawned and then his stomach gurgled and growled. He looked up from his reading and noticed the time. It had only seemed like an instant ago when the ship reactivated it's drive and started pursuing the pirate ship again, two and a half hours ago. He yawned again, and decided that something to eat and a quick nap would be in order. He got up and headed for the cabin.

Jamie was asleep on the bunk, dressed in one of his white shipsuits. It wasn't a perfect fit. The suit was tight around her hips and bust, and Rick noticed that the front of the suit was opened, forming a deep "V" between her breasts. The fabric was tight enough around her chest that he doubted that the fastener could go any higher. She looked like an angel, resting in repose. He thought briefly about giving her a kiss, but didn’t want to wake her. Instead, he opened the food cabinet, and removed a package containing bowl of self- heating chicken soup and a sandwich. He quietly exited the room and returned to the bridge.

He activated the heat seal, and mulled over what he had learned about the ship while munching on the sandwich. The stingray was a new class interceptor, supplied with the latest in artificial intelligence research. The AI-AT version 3. The AIAT-3 was fully capable of running the ship, given simple commands, and the molecular crystal storage matrix held all the currently known navigation data required to plot a course to any known point.

The AIAT3 was already coded specifically to him. According to the security log he discovered, the AI maintained a surveillance of him, and activated the ship's systems when he was abducted. Having no orders to handle the situation, the AI cloaked the ship, and proceeded to shadow the pirate vessel. When the pod ejected from the pirate ship, the ship's sensors detected his specific life form aboard, and recovered the escape pod. Now it was maintaining it's last action of following the pirate ship until Rick could decide what to do next.

That impressed Rick. He didn't know that the SP had a cloaking device. According to the engineering notes, a prototype was liberated from the Altairains, and the SP engineers created an improved model. The AIAT3 noted in the sensor logs that the garasian ship was using an original version of the cloaking device. The main difference apparently was that the old version you had to remain stationary to the nearest celestial body. The new version allowed interplanetary movement. Nothing, however, could hide the polychromatic glare as a ship entered hyperspace.

The AIAT3 had a voice mode, which still needed configuring. Rick mentally kicked himself for paying too much attention to his new uniform rather than to the ship. But then, who'da thought that there would be a cloaked pirate ship waiting in Earth orbit. Expect the Unexpected, the instructors repeatedly told him. A Stellar Patrol Ranger must always be ready to handle any situation. Rick snorted to himself as he recalled the phrases that had been drilled into him ever since he started the academy. Unfortunately, he just put a spoonful of soup up to his face when he snorted and caused the hot soup to stray his uniform and the console.

He yipped as the hot soup landed on him. He grabbed the inadequate napkins that came on the tray with the meal, and wiped off the ship consoles first. He used the remainder of the napkin to wipe the worst of the mess off his uniform. He gulped down the remainder of the soup before he accidentally made more of a mess, and scalded his tongue. He breathed deeply inward, mouth pursed, to increase the flow of cool air over his burning tongue. After a couple of minutes of panting, he finally recovered, and felt extremely foolish. 'Some space hero you are,' he thought. 'Can't even handle a bowl of soup without getting hurt.' It was a good thing that Jamie was asleep and didn't get to see his antics. He looked down at the mess on his uniform. 'I think I better take a shower and change, too. It's been a while since I've been clean, and there's a spare uniform and another shipsuit in the closet.'

He started to get up, then sat back down again. 'I better configure the vocal mode first, in case something happens while I'm in the shower.' He opened the security file, which prompted him to change his password. His service ID number was his current password. He thought about it, and punched in a new code. He typed the confirmation, and then he was in the security access for the AIATV3. He configured the vox mode, and activated it.

"Thank you, lieutenant, and welcome aboard. I hope you and your passenger are in nominal condition. May I ask about your companion?" A deep male voice filled the command section.

"Uhm, hello. We're fine, considering. Her name is Jamie. . ." He paused, having just realized that he didn't know her last name. "Anyway, she was another prisoner aboard the pirate vessel. A victim of a space-jacking."

"I understand. However, she is not Stellar Patrol personnel, and her presence is in violation of security code four hundred and sixty three, paragraph. . ."

"I know, I know. But I couldn't just leave her there. She was being. . ." Rick paused, unsure how to explain the situation to the computer. "She was being violated by several, uh, I mean, they were violating her, uh, civil rights, and I think inhuman practices were used against her as well. I had to bring her with me."

"I understand. While she is aboard, I am forbidden to reveal the operation of this ship. It would be best if you see that she remains in the cabin. It is still classified, but the little she learns in there will not damage the security of the Patrol."

"That's fine. Hey, can you change the voice at all?" asked Rick.

"Affirmative. What type of voice would you like?"

"A female one, please."

"How's this?" asked the AIATV3, in a young, silky, feminine voice.

"That's perfect. Thanks, uh, what should I call you?"

"I can respond to any name, and saying computer always gets my attention."

"Good. Then I'll call you, um." Rick paused, feeling foolish again. "I know that this class of ship is the Stingray, but what is the registry name of this ship?"

"Stingray XT zero zero two, currently. Commandant Gunn has authorized you to issue a more specific title to this ship."

Several names went through Rick's head, all of them names of various girls that he had encountered during his stay at the academy, but he didn't feel comfortable naming the ship after any of those. Finally a star ship name came to him from his childhood memories, and it felt right. "Okay, computer, I christen this ship "The Star Ghost", and I'll name you, uh, do you have any preference?"

"I am currently known as AIAT version 3, serial number 5646192. I do not have a preference. Whatever name you choose that would enhance your productivity will be acceptable."

"Boy, you aren't choosy, are you?" commented Rick.

"Would you like me to change to a young, male voice?" asked the AIATV3.

"Oh, no. The current one is fine. "Boy" is just an expression. How about calling you Aia for short."

"That is acceptable and productive. As a derivative of my designation, it will eliminate confusion when addressing me."

"Good. Then Aia is your name. Aia, I'm going to go take a shower. Let me know if anything comes up."

"Affirmative. Protocol rules state that you need to send a report in as soon as possible, to explain your current actions and whereabouts. Officially, until headquarters are informed, we are AWOL."

Rick nodded. "I know, but I need to get comfortable first. Hopefully we can find out where that ship is going, and I can include that in my report." Rick yawned and turned to leave the small control deck. "Oh, the pirate ship is of garasian manufacture, and filled with them. Interestingly enough, Blackcoat, the wanted erscan pirate, seems to be in command. He asked me about a planet called Ferlon. Do you have any data on it?"

"Scanning. Negative. No astronomical object listed with that name. I will check over the net once we regain normal space."

"Thanks Aia. Call me if anything happens with Blackcoat's ship. Can you communicate with me from other parts of the ship?"

"Affirmative. I can pick up and recognize your speech from any part of the ship, and reply."

"Great. Hey, did you turn on the lights in the cargo bay for us?"

"Affirmative," stated Aia, again.

"A yes or no will be sufficient, Aia."

"Yes," responded Aia. "My speech will adapt to your common usage over a while, lieutenant. Please be patient."

"Okay." Rick left the bridge, mulling over in his mind what he was going to send in his report. Jamie was still sleeping as he entered the cabin, and quietly he stripped and climbed into the shower cubical. Liquid-like waves of sound caressed his body, vibrating off the ditrus created by the body and recent events. After ten minutes he felt refreshed, but knew that as soon as his head was on the pillow, he was going to be asleep.

He put on a pair of briefs, and crawled onto the narrow bunk with Jamie. She smiled in her sleep, and cuddled up next to him. He gave her a light peck on the cheek, and closed his eyes.

Rick felt something soft brush his lips. He opened his eyes to see Jamie's bright face smiling down at him. She was over him on her hands and knees. As he looked down her long, smooth, firm body, he saw that she was naked. He looked up at her face again. She bent down to kiss him on the lips again.

"Finally, we're alone, Rick, and this time, no interruptions," said Jamie, in her sexiest voice. Her smell was intoxicating, and Rick reached his arms around her and pulled her down on top of him.

"Yes, we're finally alone," repeated Rick. He nuzzled her neck, amazed that a woman could smell so good. His hands started massaging her back, and he was reveling in the feel of her firm, taut body, when the gentle dim light of the cabin changed to a strident red and began to flash.

"Oh, no. Not again," complained Jamie.

"Stay here. I'll go see what the problem is," ordered Rick as he rolled her off to one side. He grabbed a shipsuit that was next to the bunk, and raced to the bridge, trying to pull on the legs of the suit as he hopped down the corridor.

"Aia, what's the situation?" asked Rick as he barged through the command hatch."

"The pirate ship has changed course. It is on an attack path to us." As Aia described the situation, she flashed the tactical display on the main viewscreen. The pirate ship had turned around and was moments away from reaching maximum weapons range.

Rick hit the intercom switch. "Jamie, buckle in. We've been spotted and they're attacking." He released the switch. "Aia, do you know how we got spotted? I thought the cloak was pretty good."

"Still analyzing the situation, lieutenant Raygunn."

"Please, call me Rick. How are our offensive weapons?"

"Good. The ship's primary weapon is an enhanced particle beam generator fired through a warp coil. However, it requires the majority of our power. Cloak needs to be off, and all non-essential systems shut down. I am also equipped with warp torpedoes and point-defense weapons."

"How are our defensives?" asked Rick.

"Not designed to combat a ship this size. Primary defense is the cloak, followed by forcefields. Shields could become overloaded quickly if the garasian craft has multiple weapons."

"Oh, great," muttered Rick.

"No, not great. Predict a twenty-four percent chance of survival in combat against this size craft."

"That was another expression, Aia. Ignore it. Prepare to drop cloak. We're not going to let this be easy for him." Rick finished securing his shipsuit and activated the targeting systems. If they wanted a fight, they were going to get one. The ship shuddered as an attacking beam raked across the hull.

To Be Continued...