Chapter 3: Spoils of War and the Butcher's Invitation
The clamor of battle faded, and silence returned to the stars.
I slumped into the pilot's seat of the "Gazi," gasping for air. The adrenaline rush was slowly wearing off, replaced by waves of lingering fear and exhaustion. If it weren't for the melody of "Good Luck Comes" still echoing in my head, I would have thought the intense battle was just a hallucination.
"Commander," Nightlight's voice pulled me back to reality. "The 'Gazi's' armor is at 71%, and energy shields have been restored to 100%. The FSV830 Support Vessel and the SC002 Engineering Ship fleet are undamaged. We... were victorious."
In Nightlight's usually flat tone, the last two words seemed to require an extra processing cycle, as if she too were digesting this low-probability event.
My gaze drifted past the viewport to the prize floating silently nearby—the NOMA M-Class frigate I had disarmed and crippled. Its hull was peppered with impact marks from my "Gatling" cannons, and its engine nozzles still sparked dangerously, like a beast de-fanged and de-clawed, silently proclaiming my victory.
"This is our first real score..." I muttered to myself, the exhaustion replaced by a fiery passion for entrepreneurship. In the world of Lagrange, nothing was more exciting than capturing an enemy ship.
"Nightlight, begin the reclamation process immediately!" I sat up straight, reassuming the posture of a commander.
"Order confirmed. The recommended procedure has three steps: Risk Assessment, Boarding and System Takeover, and Repair and Refit. Shall I proceed?"
"Do as you say. Send the FSV830 in first. Maintain a safe distance and use the full-spectrum scanner to check the ship's structural integrity and life signals. I don't want to claim a piece of space junk that's about to explode."
"Order executed."
The FSV830 Support Vessel moved out slowly, approaching the "patient" with the caution of a dedicated doctor, bathing the NOMA frigate in waves of invisible scanning beams.
A moment later, Nightlight reported, "Scan complete. Target vessel's structural integrity is at 42%. The main reactor is in a low-power standby mode with no risk of explosion. No life signals detected. Multiple hull breaches have resulted in a vacuum state internally. The enemy likely abandoned ship via escape pods."
"Good, a bunch of cowards," I sighed in relief. "Order one of the SC002 engineering ships to join us. I'll pilot the 'Gazi' as an escort. Prepare for boarding!"
The "Gazi" and the FSV830 approached the silent warship. The closer we got, the more I felt its oppressive presence. The NOMA M-Class was several times the size of the "Gazi," and the menacing "Blood Skull" paint on its hull spoke silently of its past villainy.
After docking next to a damaged airlock, I donned a cumbersome EVA suit and entered the pirate ship.
The interior was a wreck, with emergency lights flickering over the scorched metal. I carefully made my way to the bridge. The main control computer was mostly intact, and I quickly connected my personal terminal.
"Nightlight, begin hacking. Take over the ship's control systems. Transfer ownership to the 'Prosperity Blossom' Conglomerate, Commander: Zhang Ga."
"Executing... Enemy firewall removed... Formatting identification codes... Writing new authorization... Success. Commander, we are now the new owners of this vessel."
As Nightlight spoke, the bridge lights stabilized, and the red alerts on the screens turned a healthy green. A strange sense of satisfaction washed over me.
"Well done," I smiled. "Now, let's get this thing fixed up."
A tense but orderly space repair operation began. Swarms of "Moss" repair drones, like diligent ants, swarmed over the frigate's wounds, cutting away damaged armor and welding new alloy plates into place. The "Gazi" hovered nearby, a silent overseer watching over this ceremony of rebirth.
Halfway through the repairs, Nightlight's voice suddenly came through, tinged with an almost imperceptible hint of excitement. "Commander, while accessing the target vessel's database, I successfully extracted and restored its complete structural and systems blueprints. Cross-referencing with our tech library... Complete." "Blueprint Unlocked: NOMA Group M-Class Light Frigate. You can now construct this vessel model at our base's shipyard."
I slapped my thigh, so excited I nearly did a flip in the zero-g environment. This was the greatest prize of this victory! With the blueprint, I could produce a steady stream of stronger warships!
Hours later, the initial repairs were complete. The once-battered pirate ship looked brand new, its engines humming steadily once more. It waited silently beside the "Gazi" for its new master's command and a new name.
"Nightlight, officially add it to our fleet roster," I said, gazing at the warship that was far more imposing than the "Gazi," my heart swelling with pride. "Since our base is called 'Prosperity Blossom,' this ship... shall be named 'Prosperity'!"
"Order confirmed. NOMA M-Class Frigate 'Prosperity' has been added to the fleet roster."
And so, my fleet now consisted of two ships: the scout corvette "Gazi," and the combat frigate "Prosperity." It was still a humble force, but it carried all my hopes.
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of kilometers away in deep space, two battered NOMA M-Class frigates stumbled out of warp.
On the bridge of One-Eye's flagship, the atmosphere was suffocating. "Boss... we're in bad shape," a helmsman reported, his voice trembling. "The 'Thunder God' ion cannon's power conduit is overloaded, and hull armor damage is over 30%. The third ship... they've gone completely silent."
CRUNCH! One-Eye's good eye was bloodshot. He slammed his fist onto the metal console, sending sparks flying. "I know! You don't have to fucking remind me!" he roared, his chest heaving. Humiliation. Unprecedented humiliation! He, One-Eye, had been run out of a backwater mining sector by a madman he'd never even seen, using a swarm of mining drones and a damn song!
"Boss, what do we do now? Head back to the 'Blood Skull' base...?"
"Go back?" One-Eye spun around, his eye gleaming with malice. "Go back like this? Tell the big boss I lost a ship and got my ass kicked by a miner with a pickaxe? Where would I put my face!"
The helmsman flinched and fell silent.
One-Eye paced the bridge like a caged beast. He couldn't let it go. The weirder the "Prosperity Blossom" place was, the richer the prize must be!
He stopped, the rage in his eye slowly replaced by a colder, more venomous hatred. "Open a long-range encrypted channel. Get me 'The Butcher'."
The helmsman shuddered, looking at him in disbelief. "The Butcher? Boss, you mean..." "The Butcher" was the commander of another fleet in the Blood Skull pirates, infamous for his cruelty and, more importantly, for possessing a powerful destroyer. He and One-Eye were rivals.
"Just do it!" One-Eye said through gritted teeth. "Tell the Butcher I've found a prime cut of meat, a secret vault hidden in a mining sector! I need his de-stroy-er to crack that turtle's shell!" He paused, a hideous grin spreading across his face. "As for the spoils... tell him I only want thirty percent. The rest is all his."
For revenge, he was willing to pay a heavy price.
"Yes, boss!"
One-Eye turned back to stare in the direction of the "Prosperity Blossom" base, as if his gaze could pierce the void. "Prosperity Blossom... Zhang Ga..." he chewed on the name. "You just wait. Next time, I'll tear your gaudy tin can, and that damn song, to pieces!"