NOVEL NEXT Cietai System
Our ships finally entered the Cietai system when the date changed.
We had decided to take a quick stop near the Warp Gate where we rested for the night before continuing, especially considering the fact that we would need to be alert at all times while we were there.
Amber came over during that time and practically jumped on me the moment she stepped through the airlock.
I thought that she would be pleading with me to cook her something with how sad she had been from eating synthfood, only to realise she wanted to eat something else when her mouth clamped over mine and her hands worked on stripping me naked.
Well… We did it twice right there with her pushed up against the wall and another two times in my bed before she was satisfied.
Yes, one of the positions was sixty nine.
We slept together for the night before she returned to her ship in the morning, this time having received several packs of food I made for her that should last her until tomorrow.
Speaking of which, I did some reading on the GalNet and learned that there were actually different types of Space Highways and the maximum speed that you could travel on them also differed on the type of Space Highway you were on.
The one that we were travelling on was kind of classified as a local highway where it served as a way to travel a relatively short distance within a system itself.
I say relatively because we covered almost sixty thousand kilometres yesterday on the Space Highway…
But there were Space Highways that would stretch from literally one side of the system to the other side which might allow your ship to travel at speeds close to the speed of light itself.
Unfortunately, it seems like they have not been able to break that barrier yet.
Additionally, when I tried to find out how it works, it seems like the information was not shared with the public.
It was basically a ‘it just works, shut up and use it’ kind of thing.
Heck, I was also wondering how a long stretch of Space Highway like that could avoid being affected by planetary bodies or even just rocks flying around in space but that wasn’t explained either aside from the assurance that none of those would affect them.
Maybe they were afraid that people might steal the idea and make their own or something? Amber already told me this was a specialty of the Inucanis and I already learned that Hydroponics was being monopolised by the Alvs.
Perhaps each alien species has some kind of specialty that they are monopolising? And for the humans it would be the Warp Gates I suppose?
Putting that aside, we were finally in the Cietai system.
Looking out of my cockpit, I found myself looking at empty space that was shrouded in colourful mist that blotted out the stars.
Shifting my gaze down at my map, it showed that there was just a single space station deep inside the nebulae and the areas that were covered by said nebulae were blank.
A call request came from my comms channel and I immediately accepted it, the screen coming alive to show not only Amber but Samson, Reese, Maurice and Clandice as well.
Reese grinned at us, “Good morning everyone! Are we all ready? We’ll be taking the route that Samson suggested. Any problems with that?”
All of us shook our heads.
“Perfect, should we maintain comms or should we shut them off?”
Ah, if we have a comms connection, it would give out a signal that other ships might pick up and pinpoint our location, making us easier to find even if we were hiding in the nebula clouds.
Samson thought for a moment, “I would say to leave it open since you are the only one who can scan for pirates while we are travelling through the clouds. If you had to waste time to call us when you spot pirates, it would waste crucial time for us when we have to intercept them.”
Reese nodded, “Makes sense to me. Anyone objects?”
None of us did.
“Alright then! Let’s go~”
We turned our ship to match the freighter we were escorting and our engines came to life as we started our journey, boosting us to travel speeds once again.
It would usually only take half a day for someone to reach the station from the Warp Gate but that’s only if you travel directly towards it in a straight line. For us where we were going in a roundabout route, it would take at least a day to reach the station.
As we were boosting through the clouds for a while, a short alarm suddenly came from Reese’s side of the screen and I directed my attention to her.
Her face quickly turned serious, “Five ships in the clouds up ahead. Judging by how they are floating there, I would say these guys are definitely pirates. Sending the shot of the map to your screens right now.”
One of my screens changed to display a map of our surroundings where five red dots could be seen diagonally to our right.
Samson gave Reese a lok, “Shall we engage or sneak past them?”
“The route is already long enough as it is. Can I trust you all to clear the way?”
Everyone nodded.
We disengaged our travel drives at the same time and formed up.
“I have a photon laser I can hit them with, I just need a target,” I informed them.
Samson nodded, “We can make use of that then. We need to make sure none of them get away or they might return with even more pirates to try and get revenge on us. Could you hold your fire until we get closer to them and drive them out?”
“Of course. I take it that I should just stay with Reese while you guys engage them?”
“That would be the best, yes. Are you fine with that?”
I assured him that I was with a nod of my head, prompting the other four Mercs to start boosting towards the group of pirates hidden in the clouds.
A few seconds passed before lights started flashing in the nebula clouds followed by an explosion before Amber’s lips curled up into a grin.
“I’m taking first blood~ They’re scattering, keep up guys!”
The other three Mercs said nothing as but the screen showed that they were concentrated on the fight.
I couldn’t really see much through the clouds but since they were still on call meant that they were doing fine.
There were three more explosions before Samson suddenly called out, “One headed your way, Tera! Watch out!”
Sure enough, I could see the silhouette of a ship flying directly towards us as though fleeing the battle.
I tried to use my scanners to double check on the identity of the incoming ship and, at this distance, it worked, showing me that the ship indeed had pirate affiliations.
I pulled my trigger and a beam of energy shot out that nailed the enemy ship in the side, cutting a hole through and coming out from the other side of the ship.
There was a small explosion before the wreckage of the destroyed ship spun out of control and ended up spinning out further into space.
The four Mercs returned, none of them even getting a scratch on their ship.
Amber was giving off a proud look on the screen, “How was that? Pretty fast eh?”
Samson grinned, “Yeah. Didn’t think you would leave us in the dust like that. Thanks for leaving the others to us.”
Hmm… Amber could have just taken out all five of them by herself since she clearly took them by surprise. Even if she couldn’t, she should have been able to shoot down at least two ships in a single pass instead of just stopping at one.
I was wondering why she didn’t just kill them all by herself until I remembered that we also get paid from the number of pirates we destroyed at the end of this job. I’m guessing it was kind of a courtesy thing where you try not to take all the kills for yourself in a job like this or the other Mercs might resent you for ‘stealing’ their potential pay?
I was taken out of my thoughts when Amber called me from the screen, “That was a great shot too, Tera! You were so cool!”
Err… All I did was point my weapon at the pirate and shoot him though? I didn’t even do much?
Reese was already beaming at us through the screen, “Hot damn you guys are good! I’m already starting to think that we could have just gone the straight route there instead and you guys could have just obliterated all the pirates that might show up there!”
Samson frowned, “I’m afraid that’s not a--”
She waved him off before he could say anything else, “Yes, yes. I’m not stupid enough to take that risk. I’m just saying it. Alright, shall we continue?”
We formed up again and continued our journey to the station.