“And the military?”
“You mean will Scuttlebutt fall in line? He is old school, more interested in protecting our borders than in politics.”
“In other words, you haven’t even discussed it with him yet.”
“I don’t see why he would mind if the new government didn’t affect the military that much.”
“I don’t like the current system we have, but I am not sure I am ready to revolt just yet. Besides, I have a pressing matter I must attend to in Sector Nine first. I will be gone for a few months.”
“The war zone? Why would anyone want to go to an area that is being fought over by several empires?”
“That is my business. I tell you what. When I get back, we can deal with this issue. One revolution at a time. I need to leave now. I will speak with all of the guilds when I get back.”
“Very well. Thanks for the audience, Lady Eve.” Trent leaves, wondering what she meant by “one revolution at a time.”
***
Down in the lobby of the hotel, Captain Meek, Sean, and Python get their weapons from the front desk. Gothica walks up to them and says, “Lady Eve wishes to speak with you, Captain Meek.”
“Oh sorry, but we were just leaving. Got a ship to catch and all.” Meek’s words are a hurried blur.
The Arachnid pulls out all four of her blasters with blazing speed. “I must insist.”
“Woah! Chill, babe,” Meek says in a panic. His two friends freeze behind him.
“Relax. She just wants to hire you for a job.”
“Oh. Well, why didn’t you say so?”
“Here she comes.”
Eve walks up to the four standing there. She motions to Gothica, who twirls her blasters in cowboy fashion and then holsters them.
“That was so cool-looking.” Sean is totally impressed by the weaponry display. Meek elbows him swiftly in the ribs. Sean just shrugs.
“I need a lift to Laughing Skull and then into Wolfkin Territory, to the capital. You are going to Laughing Skull anyway, correct?”
“That is like a two-month trip. We are all wanted in Wolfkin Territory.”
“You just need to drop my party off. You don’t even need to get out of the ship. Remember, your ship has the correct papers even though you don’t.”
“Oh, yeah. I am not used to having a legal ship,” Meek chuckles. “You said party?”
“Yes, a party of three. Gothica, Dr. Farshe Mezeenabark, and myself.”
“That will cost you.”
“How much?”
“Three thousand bars plus expenses. Why can’t you take a normal shuttle or one of your own ships?”
“I am selling all my ships. As far as normal transports… You think you and your crew are wanted? Everyone I meet wants to kill me. I will pay 5,000 bars plus expenses. Besides, hang out with me long enough and I will make you famous pirates. If you live that long.”
“Five thousand bars.” Meek’s eyes fairly glow with money signs. “Okay. When do you want to leave?”
“Now.”
“Let’s go.”
“The Doc will be meeting us at your ship.”
“Okay.”
They walk outside and get into Eve’s limo.
Chapter 2
As the limo pulls up to the hanger where Meek’s ship is, they see Doc, a pink furry female Wolfkin waiting in front and holding her medical bag. Eve, Meek, Sean, Gothica, and Python pile out of the hover limo. They all go inside.
“Greetings, Captain Meek. Your ship is almost ready. The mechanic went to get some parts to hook up your cloaking device and he should be back in thirty minutes. You have fuel and food,” Fartan says.
“Excellent.”
“Hello, Lady Eve. I wasn’t aware we had an appointment.” Fartan is obviously curious about the group’s presence.
“We don’t. I am catching a lift with Captain Meek. Have you sold all of my ships yet?”
“Not yet, Madame.”
“Put it all in my main account. Tell my personal crew to take a few months off; I should be back then. Keep paying them their salaries, though. The other crews just lay them off when there’s a break, and I don’t want them to start working for someone else while I’m gone. Get me a manufacturing license and be prepared to do some major corporation takeovers upon my return.”
“Sounds ambitious.”
“You have no idea.”
About that time, incoming weapons fire on the area where they are standing.
“Terminator bots!” Python yells as he draws his blasters and starts to return fire. Gothica whips out all four guns and begins blasting cowgirl style.
Eve yells, “Get inside the ship! Let’s go now!” They all run up the ramp while firing their weapons outward. Sean is hit in the leg going up the ramp, and Doc takes a hit in the shoulder.
Eve turns around and sees twelve terminator bots firing blasters. She releases a massive chain of lightning that arcs out in several directions, hitting most of the attacking bots. Their personal shields are not strong enough to withstand the attack and they are destroyed immediately. As the crew pulls the injured members up the ramp, Eve picks up the two remaining bots with telekinesis and slams them into a wall. She runs up the ramp and hits the close button.
“Lift off in thirty seconds,” Che announces over the ship’s intercom. Luckily, she had been testing the engines just before the attack so they were already on. The ship begins to ascend and shoots off into space.
Meek enters the bridge.
“Report.”
MCloud complies immediately. “All systems check. We are ready for jump.” The Android presses some buttons.
“Okay, plot a course to Laughing Skull and jump,” Meek commands.
MCloud acknowledges him with a nod. “Plotted.”
Over the ship-wide intercom, the crew hears, “Jumping.”
The ship shakes as it speeds up. MCloud’s arm pops off and lands on the floor.
Meek sighs and shakes his head.
“Can someone please put MCloud’s arm back on?” Meek glares at Cogg.
Cogg goes on the defensive. “Well, he is put together with bandages. What did you expect?”
Che questions, “Who pissed off the Machine People? Why do we have terminator bots shooting at us?”
Meek thinks for a second before coming to a realization. “Must have been that shipment of defective parts I sold them.”
“Geez, Meek. Is there anyone in the galaxy you haven’t scammed or ripped off?” Che interrogates.
“I am sure there is, but I just can’t think of anyone at the moment.”
Python and Gothica enter the bridge. Chad Wick turns around and sees Gothica.
“Who is the hot-looking Arachnid babe?” Chad Wick inquires.
Che turns around thinking Chad Wick is sexually harassing her again.
Che says, “Do I need to web you to the wall again for a few hours?” Then she catches sight of Gothica and says, “Oh, good! Someone else Chad can sexually harass. She is a warrior, Chad. You better be good or she will cut your head off with one of those four swords on her back.”
The Arachnid does not know what to say, so just mumbles. “I am Gothica.”
Meek says, “We are transporting three people to Laughing Skull and then to the Wolfkin home world.”
“Wolves…. Great. Don’t we all have wanted posters there?” Che asks.
“Yup.”
“How much are we getting? It better be substantial considering we launched without cargo. Oh, and that means the cloaking device is not hooked up either.” Che does not bother hiding her annoyance.
“Five thousand bars plus expenses.”
Che whistles, impressed. “Wow! That is a lot just for passage. Do we have to kill anyone?”
“Nay, just drop off.”
“Nice.”
Python takes a seat at the tactical display. Gothica goes over to the captain and says, “You are cute for a human.” She runs her hands through his hair.
<
br /> Meek blushes a little. “Oh, I am just old and fat.” He is attempting to be modest but likes the attention. He smiles at her and she smiles back.
The intercom comes on and Eve issues an order. “Gothica, come to the sickbay.”
Gothica pokes Meek in the stomach. “I like my mates big.” She winks as she leaves the bridge. Meek is feeling all glossy-eyed about now.
Che remarks, “She is still deciding.”
“Deciding?” Meek ponders.
“Whether she is going to eat you before or after she mates with you. In any event, I would avoid any dinner invitations if I were you. The warriors like the plump ones,” Che adds.
“I knew it was too good to be true,” Cogg chuckles.
They all start laughing at Meek’s expense.
“Just my luck.” Meek frowns, disappointed. He had really been looking forward to an actual date.
Eve enters the bridge and announces, “Sean and Doc will be okay. Sean has a busted leg, and Doc was just grazed. She is attending to both their injuries.”
Meek says, “Good to hear. This is Lady Eve, one of our passengers. Our employer.”
“We’ve met,” Eve says, standing and looking at them seriously. “I hope you fare better than the last crew of this ship.”
Chad asks, “What happened to the last crew?”
“I killed them all,” Eve says flatly. “I will be in the sickbay.” She walks off the bridge.
Che is concerned with the bloodthirstiness of their new employer. “Geez, where did you dig her up?”
“No crap. She gives me the willies,” Cogg remarks.
Python adds, “You have no idea.”
Captain Meek knows he can’t argue with his crew’s perceptions. “Yeah, don’t get on her bad side unless you want to end up a mangled headless corpse in some corridor.”
“I have a bad feeling about this one,” Chad says with alarm.
“Yeah, I would think twice about sexually harassing that one, Chad,” Che says sarcastically.
They all burst out laughing.
“Ho-ho, ha-ha,” Chad responds, sticking his tongue out at Che. Che winks back.
***
In the sickbay, Doc has put a bandage on her shoulder and fixed up Sean’s leg.
“Your leg should be okay in couple weeks. It is setting fine.”
“Thanks, Doc. This is weird, since I am the one usually doing the patching. Ha ha.”
“I noticed your degrees on the wall in here. You were a doctor once?”
“Yeah, I specialized in virus research.”
“Oh, a researcher.”
“Yeah, until my family fell out of political favor and were all assassinated. I have been on the run since then.”
“That is unfortunate. I am a doctor who does research regarding the application of general medicine to alien races. Newly discovered life forms are what I study the most.”
“Interesting.”
“Doc... help me,” says a voice from outside the sickbay door. Gothica and Doc run outside the door, where they see that Eve has collapsed on the floor.
“We have to get her up on the table.” They pick her up and set her on the table. Doc grabs her arm to look at it and her hand drops back to the table as a huge piece of skin comes off. Her arm has rainbow-colored metallic scales and her nails are metallic talons. Eve screams as her body glows a bright yellow and huge chunks of skin melt away from her face. The ship shakes violently as she yells out in extreme pain.
“You were warned about using your powers! And now you have accelerated the mutation. You must fight it or you will destroy the ship! Get her clothes off.”
Bone spikes pierce through her hair and go in a row down her neck and spine. The next glowing tremor removes all of her skin. Eve’s body is all metallic scales with rainbow coloring. Her eyes increase in size to big yellow dragon eyes.
“What the hell is she turning into?” Sean demands.
Doc does a body scan on Eve. Both of them look at the scan.
“I have never seen anything like this!” Sean exclaims.
“No one has. Hmm...” Doc continues to examine the scan.
“What are those on her back?” Sean questions.
“Turn her over.” They both grab her and turn her over slowly.
Sean says, “What the...those are....”
“Metallic wings and a tail it appears,” Doc interjects. “She is changing into a new species of Space Dragon.”
“What!” Sean asks. “How is that even possible?”
“It isn’t normally, but she was created in a laboratory. Looking at these scans, she will be a Morphic Space Dragon. Morphic means she will have the ability to shape change into either a bi-pedal or full Space Dragon form. Morphics are extremely rare, like 1 in 100,000 out in the wilds of space. The more interesting thing is that all Space Dragons are born with one color, and this determines their abilities. Since she was created with the DNA from many different types of Space Dragons, she is rainbow-colored. According to the reports from the lab where she was created, they could never duplicate the process again. She is one of a kind. She still has some human DNA left in her, but it disappears more and more every time she uses her telepathic abilities. If she loses control, she will change into a full Space Dragon whether she wants to or not. That will be very inconvenient if she is in a ship or a building.”
“No kidding. That would destroy whatever structure she is in. She does look beautiful though. I’ve never seen anything like her, or any Space Dragon of any kind up close.”
Eve opens her eyes and says in a raspy voice, “Doc, report.”
“Bad news and good news.”
“Bad news first.”
“Your mutation has sped up quite a bit. Your human DNA is almost gone. Your body is changing.”
“Good news?”
“Your body has almost completely changed into a bi-pedal Space Dragon. Your wings and tail will be full size by the time we reach Laughing Skull.”
“Great. I just bought some new designer clothes, damn it!” Eve says sarcastically. She sits up.
“Mirror?”
Sean rolls out a body-size mirror.
She gets up and parades in front of the mirror, twirling around slowly.
“What the hell? Why are my wings and tail so small?”
“They are growing about an inch an hour, so relax. You should grow about another foot taller, and your wings will be about 2.5 meters in length, each with a 5-meter wing span. Your tail will grow maybe 2.5 meters or more. Looking at the files on Morphic Space Dragons I got from the Consortium, it does not say much about the bi-pedal tail size.”
“So I will be able to fly?”
“Yeah, but you will need to learn like every other Space Dragon does. You will need to learn in both forms. Flying in bi-pedal form is much different than in Space Dragon form. That’s why we need to get to our destination as soon as possible. You don’t need to wear clothes unless you really want to. Not to mention, we don’t have clothes that would accommodate your wings and tail anyway.”
“Hmm.... Okay, I look like a disco ball with wings and a tail. That shiny reflective thing will blind anybody I am talking to.”
They all chuckle.
Sean says, “You have been watching too many of Captain Meek’s earth movies from the 21st century.”
“I have some of my own,” Eve informs.
“I think you look awesome, Mom. It’s so cool having a Space Dragon for a mother,” Gothica says with glee.
“We’ll go and cut some holes in some of my clothes. Wait, just the cloaks. The clothes won’t fit anymore no matter what we do.”
“We can try different things. Stick with leather, though; cloth won’t go against metal scales.”
Eve says, “True.”
The two get up and leave the room. The two doctors stay and keep examining the scans of Eve.
***
Later on the bridge, the crew is trying to decide whether to take a shortcut t
hrough Elemental Space or go the longer route.
Cogg says, “I have no idea what caused the ship to shake, Boss.” About that time, MCloud’s leg pops off and hits the floor.
Meek sighs and says, “Someone put MCloud’s leg back on.” He continues to mumble profanity about the topic where only he can hear.
Chad picks up the leg and pops it back on.
“Thanks, Chad. You look mighty cute in those pants,” MCloud says in a deep male voice. Che is laughing her head off at the front of the cockpit.
“Okay that is becoming quite disturbing. It is starting to weird me out,” Python grumbles.
Cogg says, “Look guys, until I get some more parts for MCloud, this is all I can do with him.”
MCloud says, “Captain Meek, we can save about one week if we cut through Elemental Space. Or would you rather go the long way?”
“Take the short cut,” Meek says with confidence, then he thinks to himself, This is coming from an Android made from spare trash compactor parts.
“Che can you double check those calculations just in case,” Meek asks.
“Sure. Ha ha ha.”
“Captain, I assure you I am functioning just fine. May I rub your butt cheeks with some hot body oil?” MCloud adds.
Meek mumbles some other obscenities. There are some chuckles among the crew.
“Looks correct, Captain. I am changing course,” Che informs with a snicker.
“Very well. Proceed.”
***
Down below in Eve’s room, Doc, Gothica, and Sean are talking with Eve.
“Can you flap your wings? They look full size now,” Sean asks.
Eve says, “Yeah, I grew more than a foot. I am 2.5 meters tall. 8 feet. Wings are 9 feet each, so I have about a 5.48-meter wing span. Tail is 2.5 meters.”
“You’ve got metal bone spikes all the way down from your head to the tip of your tail, and on your shoulders, elbows, and knees too,” Gothica adds.
“According to these records from the Consortium, you are much bigger than any other bi-pedal Morphic Dragon ever discovered. But there have not been that many, so it is hard to say. I am wondering how big your Space Dragon form will be,” Doc interjects with true interest.
“Yeah, when we get to Dragon territory, I hope I can find an intelligent Space Dragon to answer all my questions,” Eve says in a serious tone.
“Well, you still have a little hair left. It is falling off as metal scales replace it,” Sean informs.
“Mom, your claws are long, so it might be hard to shake hands with people. I am sure your nail kit won’t work on those suckers,” Gothica teases.
Eve laughs. “No kidding. Give me that hammer.”