Mars Daybreak Fan Fiction ❯ Haunting Past ❯ Chapter 8

 

By: A-Z Mark II

 

Disclaimer: I think that Sony Computer Ent. and Bandai own Mars Daybreak - maybe.

 

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Chapter 8

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“Come on, Gram!” called Enora, scampering past Milhe to grab Gram's arm. “We're going to be surfacing any time now, and we need to get ready!” she said. Shaking his head, Gram let the energetic teenager lead him off the bridge. The ship was four days out from Ligaoga, and they had barely made it into position in time to enjoy their one day each month on the surface without fear of satellite surveillance spotting them and the subsequent air strike by Earth Forces aero-space forces. It had always intrigued Ester that neither Earth nor Mars had shifted any of the satellite's orbits to cover this hole. She supposed that it was a case of simply moving the blind spot not being worth it to the Earth Forces or cash-strapped Mars administration.

“Surface shows clear, Captain,” reported the Naval Witch. MAKI was displaying a clean sensor sweep, along with the icon for their special bath.

“Systems are ready, Captain,” came the voice of the ship's system. “Surfacing will coincide with daybreak,” she noted. “Shall I use excess engine heat to prepare the bath?” asked the AI.

“Once the ship is up, go ahead and warm the bath up,” confirmed Elizabeth. “Any signs of Megumi's friend or his family?” she wondered. MAKI indicated a negative on her display.

“No sign or sensor trace of them, Captain,” noted the AI. Ester glanced at the larger Captain of the ship.

“Expecting them?” she wondered. The Captain shook her head.

“Honestly, Ester?” she asked, seeing Ester tilt her head slightly. “I have no idea.
she smiled at the smaller woman. “At least this time, Megumi's friend isn't likely to mistake the Aurora for his mother,” she said humorously.

“Which means that we should get to enjoy the full day on the surface,” chimed in Aki from where he was covering for the normal communication's crewman, who was grabbing some sleep after a long shift eaves dropping on Martian news channels and what Earth communications he could access through his hacking. Man, I can't wait to show Vess my swim trunks! he thought giddily. He was sure that once the cool blonde saw him in his small trunks, she would realize that he was well worth getting to know.

“Yes,” agreed Elizabeth, “but with the heightened state of tension, we need to be doubly vigilant not to be caught flat footed; especially since we are still under-strength from what we were before the battle of Mount Olympus,” she cautioned him. Pity that Vess's RB unit couldn't use our hanger system and had to be left on the Hope, the captain thought to herself. Like Kuberness's RB unit, Vess's Flick was a major chunk of firepower on its own. When added to Vess's formidable piloting skills, that combo was downright lethal.

“Ester, are you planning to stand watch most of the day?” wondered the Captain, remembering what the Naval Witch had done so many times before. Ester hesitated before answering.

“Actually, Captain,” she said slowly, “I was planning on taking your advice and relaxing,” said the short girl, fighting to keep herself from blushing. “I have devised a way to get the primary sensor sweeps fed to the pool-side terminal, so we can all enjoy the bath while keeping our vigil,” she went on.

“Have you now,” grinned Elizabeth. “Well, we certainly can't let this rare event go to waste, now can we?” she teased the usually stiff and proper first officer. “How about you go ahead and get ready while I take the wheel for the surfacing, then?” she suggested.

“I…” began Ester, only to see Elizabeth leering at her. “T…thank you, Captain,” she said, saluting before turning and moving off the bridge. Seeing Aki start to rise from the communications station, she glared at him.

“Sit your ass down, Aki,” she snarled at him, the young man dropping back into the station seat instantly. “Keep your ears open,” she said.

“Yes, Captain,” sighed the young man. Elizabeth glanced at Poipoider and Clara, who were manning their stations. Both seemed amused by the situation.

“Surface in eleven minutes,” came MAKI's voice. Elizabeth smiled in anticipation. This will be a very interesting day, she thought giddily.

-

In the cabin that Vess, Gram and Ester shared, Gram was fishing around in his bag, eventually pulling his baggy swim trunks free. Seeing him do that, Vess frowned. “Gram,” she said, swiftly searching her pack, “I don't think I have my swimsuit,” she frowned. “I thought you said bath,” she added. The door hissed open, revealing Ester.

“It is a bath, Vess,” said the young man, holding his baggy, mid-thigh shorts while snagging a towel. “It is also sort of a recreational time. While we are cooling off from the bath, we toss a ball around, or rest on chairs, or take in the sun; stuff like that,” he explained.

“Is there a problem, Vess?” asked Ester, taking her towel off the hook on the wall.

“Not really,” shrugged Vess. “I seem to have forgotten my bikini,” she explained. Ester considered it.

“We don't exactly have any hard and fast rules about clothing,” said the Naval Witch. “Most of us choose to wear something, either because we don't want to cause trouble for certain crewmen, or because Megumi is aboard, but not all of us wear suits,” she explained. “A towel is perfectly acceptable, or - if you feel bold - noting at all will probably be acceptable,” she offered. “I would offer you one of my suits, but…” she shrugged. The difference in height, chest, waist and hips was self-evident.

“Are you wearing the same outfit you did last time?” wondered Gram. While thin and relatively sexy, it wasn't something that did justice to Ester's sleek body. The smaller girl paused, at his question.

“I actually have a different suit,” she admitted, her back to the two so her flaming face wouldn't be seen. I can't believe that I am actually going to wear that in front of the crew! she thought for far from the first time. Not that it was anything extreme, but it was also a far, far cry from her usual bathing suit.

“Guess I'll just use a towel,” muttered Vess. It wasn't that she was shy or hung-up; her youth on Ardena had seen to that. It was that she didn't feel like giving the crew of the ship a show. Ester glanced at the taller blonde.

“If you would like, I think that one of Sala's suits might fit you,” offered Ester. “Or maybe one of Neli's,” she added, visually measuring the other woman. Vess shook her head.

“I'll be fine,” she assured the First Officer. Just then, the squawk box announced that the ship had surfaced, and the bath was being prepared. Hearing this, Ester swiftly grabbed her swimming suit and turned to Vess and Gram, who were likewise ready. Before she could speak, the hatch opened, revealing Enora, one hand holding her towel and a bit of cobalt blue cloth.

“Come on, guys!” the girl barked excitedly, “let's get going!” she insisted. Gram glanced at Vess, who just shrugged. Enora grabbed Vess's hand with her own and dragged her off down the passageway, Ester and Gram following in her wake. Nearly running, Enora lead Vess to a small dry-lock that doubled as a maintenance access port. “Let's get changed and get out there!” urged Enora, nearly tearing her clothes off before hastily stepping into her bikini. Vess more sedately disrobed, putting her one-piece bodysuit and vest into one of the small cubes beside Enora's sloppily-piled clothes. Wrapping her towel around herself, she followed Enora as the girl charged out the opposite hatch, leading to the upper post-sail deck. To Vess's surprise, there was a large pool of water in the armored deck, with a small fish-shaped pump circulating the water.

“Your `bath', I presume?” she asked unnecessarily. Enora nodded, dipping her toes in the water.

“Brr!” she shivered. “First ones here,” she smiled. “Give it a few minutes to warm up, and we're in business!” she smirked at Vess. “Going with the Captain Elizabeth look?” she wondered curiously, seeing Vess's towel.

“Forgot my bikini,” said the blonde simply, watching the water that was exiting the fish-spigot steam. “What was the big rush to get out here, anyway?” she asked, feeling the almost-cold wind off the distant ice flows blow over her body. Enora grinned at her.

“Oh, just that you will likely be interested in getting out here before the boys,” she said innocently. Ester emerged from the changing room that the other two had been in a moment before. “Wow, Ester,” interjected Enora, catching sight of what Ester was wearing, “you really are working it in that outfit!” she enthused.

The reserved Naval Witch had on a one-piece racing-style suit, with high-cut hips, low-cut top and low-coverage rear. Her back was entirely bare, since the suit hooked behind the neck. Ester folded her hands across her chest almost self-consciously.

“I thought I should get a new suit,” she offered lamely. Enora's smirk told her that the younger girl wasn't buying that in the least.

“Wait until Gram sees that,” purred Enora. I hope he likes my suit, she thought nervously. Enora was wearing a cobalt blue bikini with a strapless top, the front connected by a small gold-colored ring between her breasts, the bottoms resembling French-cut panties, once more accented by two small gold rings joining the front and back of the bottoms at each hip. The back of her bottoms covered about as much of her ass as Ester's suit did - which wasn't much, though it was generously more than a thong.

“Speaking of Gram, where is he?” wondered Vess, not seeing Gram in the changing room behind Ester.

“Oh, the men and women have different changing rooms,” explained Enora, pointing to the other door a little bit over from the one they used. “Gram should be in there,” she said, moving over to listen next to the door. Hearing some sounds, she nodded in satisfaction. “Yep!” she confirmed. I wonder if his is really bigger than Aki's, she wondered, recalling her last visit to this place. It had been a crushing realization to discover that they had been talking about their beach balls instead of their dicks. It occurred to her that standing behind her were two women who could likely answer that question. It also occurred to her that asking them would be a very awkward experience. How would I even broach that topic, anyway? `Hey, Vess, I was wondering if your boyfriend's dick is bigger than Aki's dick, because, well, I really want to sleep with him' isn't something I can see working, she reflected.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the door opening and Gram emerging in his swim trunks. Seeing the three women, he blinked at them. “Something wrong?” he wondered, curious why they were bunched around the door to the men's changing room.

“No, nothing!” Enora hastily denied.

“Your suit looks really good, Enora,” he said glancing at her. “Ester, that is certainly a better look for you,” he smiled at Ester, who blushed deeply.

“It's just a suit,” she muttered, fidgeting slightly. His eyes met Vess's. His lips twitched as he tried his damnedest not to say what leapt into his mind. Vess shook her head.

“Say it before you hurt yourself,” she said wryly, folding her arms under her breasts and spreading her legs a bit.

“Say what, Vess?” he asked, fighting himself hard. His girlfriend sent him a steady look.

“Whatever crack you are dying to say about my standing here in a towel,” she replied civilly.

“That is one lucky towel,” Gram responded, even managing to make it sound like that was what he was going to say all along. Vess's lips unwillingly curved into a smile at that outrageous lie.

“Not as lucky as you,” she replied, her tone warm and laced with affection. Taking two quick steps, she grabbed his arm and dragged him toward the bath. “Let's see if the bath is ready yet,” she said, all but tossing him into the water.

Coming up, he shook the water from his hair. “It's still a little cool,” he reported. “But it's getting warmer and warmer,” he added, ducking back under the surface for a moment. Once more surfacing, he found the three girls staring at him intently. “What?” he wondered.

“Nothing,” said Enora, jumping in beside him as Ester slipped into the water as well. Vess squatted down before leaning forward into the water, giving Gram a quick flash of her bare sex. All three girls were glad of the still-cool water, since they had all been thinking the same kind of thing, seeing Gram in the pool.

For maybe five minutes, the four of them had the bath to themselves before the rest of the crew began arriving. Before long, the entire crew was there, including Megumi, who had arrived relatively early on. Seeing Gram there, she smiled at him and waved. He smiled back at her, Ester and Enora doing the same. Vess glanced at her and gave her a small nod. Megumi gave Vess a smile in return. Beside her, Junior moved a little closer to his girlfriend as she exchanged greetings with Gram and company. As it had happened last him he had been aboard, Poipoider had annoyed Captain Elizabeth by taking his powered armor into the huge bath, and she had managed to extract him from it. Clara sat by the side of the pool, dipping her paw in, only to snatch it back out, complaining about it being hot.

Aki had made his grand entrance, only to find that Vess hardly even glanced at him. His pride took another hit, and he ended up sulking and plotting next to Yagami and Junior. Captain Elizabeth drifted over to Vess and shared her saki with the blonde, gradually breaking down the girl's distant social habit. As noon approached, Gram excused himself to prepare some lunch, Vess immediately informing him that she was going with him. Easily climbing out of the bath, she almost didn't catch her towel in time as it slipped off her wet skin. She caught it at her hips, opting to just hold it in place until she got into the changing room. Behind her, Aki suddenly found himself with a boner and nothing to do with it.

“I wouldn't,” came the sage voice of Enora from just behind him. Jerking his head around, he saw her squatting a little ways behind him, having taken a break from her game of beach ball with Megumi, Neli and Yagami. “Vess is a one-man kind of girl,” she said. “And don't forget that if she shot at Gram, she'll kill you,” added the girl with a smirk, straightening and moving back to the game.

“Ah, what do you know,” muttered Aki unhappily.

“She knows girls, Aki,” interjected Elizabeth, “which is more than I can say for you,” added the captain. That boy's going to get hurt if he keeps on missing the signals that Vess is sending, she mentally sighed.

“Do yourself a favor, Aki,” seconded Yagami, “listen to the Captain.”

Meanwhile, Gram and Vess were putting together a basic, but good, meal to take back to the bath deck. After pausing to wring the water out of her towel, Vess had decided to just wrap it around her waist rather than try to keep it secured over her breasts. After all, with all the crew on the bath deck, what did it matter? Side by side, the two worked on the food, cutting up fruit and cheese, setting out crackers and making some thick dips for the chips. Vess smiled contentedly as she noticed that Gram kept sneaking peeks at her bare breasts. “You know, Gram,” she said sexily, turning to push herself against him, “if you want me, all you have to do is take me,” she reminded him, breathing hotly in his ear as she said it. Against her belly, she felt his dick harden.

“Vess, if you keep that up, I might just have to bend you over the counter and ravage you,” he warned her, wrapping his arms around her bare torso and hugging her to him. “While I am sure that you would love it, it might be a bit much of a show for the crew, hmm?” he reminded her. Vess pouted.

“You might have a point,” she grumbled, soaking in the warmth of his chest through her breasts, which were flattened against his muscles. “Still, it might be worth it,” she mused, half considering it. Damn, thought Gram, she's gotten even hornier! Not that that was a bad thing, of course.

Reluctantly separating, the two turned back to the last bit of food preparation. Gram glanced at Vess again, suddenly seeing something in his mind's eye. “Hey, Vess,” he said, “did you ever see any of those island girls on Earth? You know, like they show in the travel boards in Uppercity?” he asked her, grinning. Vess searched her memories.

“You mean the ones that had the dark-skinned girl with long, loose hair to their waists, orchids at their temples, wearing those waist-wrap things?” she confirmed. Gram nodded.

“Yeah,” he confirmed. “Are they really like that?” he asked her. Vess glanced down at herself. Aside from her white skin and short hair, it occurred to her that her folded, wrapped towel over her hips from waist to knee did sort of resemble the girls on the travel billboards.

“Well, I never saw any topless like me, but they did have them at the hotels in the Pacific islands,” said Vess, frowning. “though, I think that was just for tourists, since I can't recall seeing even one local dressed like that,” she added. Hearing Gram sigh, Vess smiled as an idea hit her. “I'd be happy to see if I can find a flower for my hair,” she offered him, “and I think that there was a brighter-colored towel in Sala's room,” added the blonde. “While I can't do much about my skin tone or short hair,” she shrugged, “I can pretty much promise I can get you to overlook that.” Her smile was languid and inviting as she exaggerated her posture, accenting her breasts and hips.

“Damn, Vess,” mumbled Gram, his dick snapping to attention, tenting his shorts in the process. Reaching down to arrange himself more comfortably, he found Vess's hand already there, rubbing and stroking. “You really do want to be bent over the counter and fucked senseless, don't you?” he growled aggressively, grabbing her waist and pulling her to him for a hungry kiss.

Vess didn't answer him verbally; she let her actions speak for her. Throwing one arm around the back of his neck, she crushed her chest to his chest as her tongue invaded his mouth, her other hand stroking his hard dick once more before hurriedly attacking the waistband of his trunks. In short order, she had her hand on his hard length and his trunks pushed down to bare his entire groin. Humming happily, Vess tickled the wide, spongy tip of his tool before pushing her belly close enough to rub the bulbous tip against her bare belly, just above her bellybutton.

“We shouldn't,” mumbled Gram, feeling the silken skin of his girlfriend through his sensitive glans. Vess kissed his neck before licking along his collarbone.

“So?” she breathed before dipping her head to harass his nipples with tongue and lips. Against her belly, she felt the additional slickness of pre-cum. Breathing faster, Vess slipped to her knees, tugging once on the wrapped towel, dropping it under her knees before kneeling, dragging Gram's drooling tool along her belly and between her shapely tits. Gram sucked in a breath as Vess sandwiched his shaft between her soft, sexy breasts and began to move her chest back and forth, rubbing him with her tits. Each time his tip emerged from between her breasts, her wet tongue swiped across the tip, collecting the pre-cum that was flowing faster from the man's slit.

Reaching down, Gram ran his fingers through Vess's short hair, across her shoulder and then back to her neck. Leaning over, he reached down and worked his hands into position to capture her hard nipples. A happy moan was his reward. Vess enjoyed having Gram play with her breasts - as well as other parts - and feeling him skillfully manipulate the puffy areolas and nipples ignited her already-lit lust. Snaking one hand down to her own groin, she slid a finger along her vaginal lips, finding herself to be more than wet.

Regretfully leaning back from Gram, Vess decided that giving him greater access to her tits was the better option. As a plus, she could now swallow him orally without interrupting his fingers. Engulfing his length in her mouth, she was now free to shove both hands between her legs to push three fingers into her passage while two more from her other hand rubbed her clit. Grunts, wet slurps and labored breathing filled the empty dining room. Before either realized it, Gram flooded Vess's mouth with his cum - which Vess eagerly swallowed - as Vess's fingers and the knowledge that she was having sex with Gram in the kitchen of the Aurora - where anyone might walk in on them - finished her release.

Gradually, Vess eased back to rest her ass on her heels, catching her breath. Pulling her hands away from her dripping sex, she smiled when she saw the generous coating of girl-cum on them. Looking at Gram's gradually softening member, Vess felt a surge of accomplishment. We really are good together, she thought happily, absently licking up the last tiny bit of cum to escape Gram's member. Working her way to her feet, she quickly washed her juice off her hands before grabbing the towel. As she shook it out in preparation to wrap it back around her hips, they heard someone step into the mess hall.

“Hey, you two need any…?” came Enora's voice, only to pause for a moment. After several heartbeats, she went on. “Need any help?” managed the teenager. Vess wrapped the towel around her hips again.

“We're about done, Enora,” said Gram calmly. “But we could use a hand carrying it out,” he added, smiling at Enora. The girl nodded.

“Sure, Gram,” she said. Looking at Vess's topless look, she swallowed once before speaking again. “Should I take off my top, too?” she asked both of them. “We could be topless island girl waitresses,” she smiled, if a bit shakily.

“You would be ok giving the crew a show like that?” challenged Vess. “I'm only wearing it this way because they aren't here - especially that Aki idiot,” added the girl.

“Besides,” seconded Gram, “Vess tells me that those girls don't exist.”

“Well, not like in the tourist pamphlets, no,” agreed Enora. “But there are topless girls in the islands,” she added. Seeing the look on Gram's face, she frowned. “You've never been off Mars, have you?” she intuitively knew. Gram shrugged.

“I was born on Mars, and never had occasion to leave,” said the young man. “Vess and I used to talk about what it must be like on Earth - mostly from the impression of Earth gathered from travel ads in Uppercity on Ardena,” he shared a fond memory with Vess.

“It's as pretty as we thought,” said Vess, giving Gram a warm look. “The south Pacific is especially nice; the water is so clear and full of life,” she recalled.

“I know!” exclaimed Enora eagerly, “we need to take him to the beach at Australia! The one near where Rosetta is stationed!” she proposed to Vess. Vess considered it.

“It would be good to see Rosetta again,” she admitted. “But we can't do anything until we get this problem here fixed,” she decided. Glancing at the clock, she moved out of the kitchen and to the other side of the fully-loaded pass-through. “Let's get this crew fed,” she suggested, pausing to wrap her towel around her chest. Taking two trays - one in each hand - the girl moved toward the door.

“Right behind you, Vess,” called Enora, seeing Gram moving to take two of the trays himself. Touching his arm, she caught his attention. When he looked at her, she sucked in a large breath and met his eyes. “Would you like to see me topless?” she asked him, her voice tinged with apprehension. “I don't mind, Gram! Really! As long as it's you,” she assured him hurriedly. Gram blinked at the girl. Reaching back, Enora hurriedly unclipped her top, catching it one-handed as it fell. Clenching her fists, she kept her hands at her sides for what felt like an eternity. Come on, Gram! she silently begged, you have to like what you see, or…! Her arms began to shake with tension.

Hands on her shoulders shattered her mental anguish. “Enora,” came his steady voice, “you shouldn't feel that you are competing with Vess,” he said, gently taking her top out of her suddenly limp hand and calmly re-fastening the top on Enora. Taking two trays in his hands, he paused, seeing that Enora was still rooted in place, frozen, face on fire. “And yes, Enora, I enjoyed seeing you topless,” he smiled at her, seeing her head jerk up to meet his eyes. Winking at her, he moved through the door.

Enora was stunned for several moments before a huge, happy smile spread across her face. “Gram!” she breathed happily, spinning to grab the last two trays and nearly dancing after the couple. You liked that, Gram? she thought in anticipation. Well, this is just the first step, `big brother', she promised herself, already plotting her next move.

-

“Man, what a wreck,” muttered Doctor, surveying the first complete, in-depth assessment of the Ship of Hope. Reviewing the readings from the ship's system, BALLS, and his two most trusted lieutenants, the operator of Harras city-ship began to revise his list of parts, supplies and estimated time and cost of repairing the damaged fast cruiser SHIELD ship. Several systems that needed repair had been missed in the initial list from Gram, but the Doctor understood why they had been missed.

“It's a wonder that they kept this ship afloat at all; let alone got here and got her into the dock,” he muttered, watching his BALLS hard at work on the hull, their laser/plasma torches lighting the ship from below. Gram had supplied him with the back-story of the ship, and knowing that Gram had salvaged the ship from the drift-ice graveyard, he could see where the initial build had been altered by the pirate who had run the ship before it became lost in the seas for decades before being salvaged and re-tooled further by Gram. That boy has a singular talent for picking things up, thought the Doctor, reviewing the notes that Gram had left about his alterations to the existing SHIELD ship.

He had found out within hours of the ship being sealed in dry-dock that the ship's system - identifying itself as NAMI - retained control of nearly every core system, and his own access permission was limited to dry-dock repair status. No logs were available that did not pertain to damage logs, no access was allowed to the core system, and the hardware of the ship's system was under lock and key. He had swiftly found the strange Buckler unit in the hanger, and had learned, upon trying to access it, that it, too, was locked out and locked down tighter than a tin can. It had become apparent to him at that point that while Gram might trust him, the doubts of Elizabeth and the open suspicions of Ester weighed against him in the minds of the blonde girl and her boyfriend.

Thinking of his flame, Elizabeth Laiti, reminded him of what rode on this project. Leaning against the bulkhead, Doctor sank down to sit on the catwalk, studying the readouts and maps of the damage. Long ago, he had discovered that if he just let his mind work, it was easier to get results than to try and force things. Letting his mind drift through his time crewing with Elizabeth, he found himself visually tracing damaged sections on the Hope. Abruptly, he blinked as he saw something for the first time.

“Son of bitch,” he breathed, swiftly tapping in commands to see if his sudden mental breakthrough might work. Seeing the information, he began to smile as he climbed to his feet. “I'm so good I scare myself,” grinned the man, hurrying to the secured hatch that would let him get back to the city-ship's main area. He had a ship to fix, and a woman's heart to re-capture, after all. But to do that, he needed to find some parts in his private stash of gear.

-

“That's a beautiful sunset,” murmured Vess from beside her lover, the pair of them watching the sun begin to slip beneath the horizon. Near the two, Ester and Enora watched the sunset as well as the couple not too far from them.

“We didn't get to see the sunset last time,” noted Enora, feeling the temperature being to drop swiftly as the sunlight weakened. Most of the crew was already back inside, leaving only the four at the rail and a couple others outside to gather up the bits and pieces left over from their day-long bath and sun-bathing.

“True,” said Ester softly. It is a pretty sunset, she thought to herself. Glancing at Enora, she saw the girl's skin begin to goose-bump from the cool air off the icepacks. “Maybe we should head inside,” she said, pitching her voice to carry to Gram and Vess. “It's getting cold very quickly,” she noted. Behind the four, they heard the last of the crew move through the hatch to the changing room.

“Guess it's time,” agreed Gram, moving toward the changing room. Vess held onto his hand, tugging him over to the side the girls had been using as their changing room.

“We have your stuff over on our side,” said Vess. Gram followed her lead docilely as the four of them entered and closed the hatch behind them. Ester touched the communication panel.

“Captain, ship is secure and prepared for dive,” she reported.

“Understood, Ester,” came the reply from Elizabeth. “Satellite coverage resumes in seven minutes,” she added, closing the connection. Ester opened her locker before beginning to peel off her swimsuit in preparation to don her uniform once more. Beside her, Vess was already stepping into her one-piece body suit, since she had only been wearing a towel all day. Enora was naked and fishing around in the small cube for her panties. Behind the three, Gram was stepping into his pants, his shirt draped over his shoulders.

“So,” said Vess, donning her jacket, her suit zipped up to just above mid-breast, “where are we going now?”

“It hasn't really been decided, Vess,” answered Ester. “Captain Elizabeth is planning to move toward Liberty city-ship, to see how the pirate free-hold is doing,” said the first officer. “Of course,” she added, buckling her skirt-like bottom on over her dark body suit, “if you or Gram have a different idea, we are willing to listen,” she explained diplomatically.

Gram shrugged, tucking his shirt into his pants and slipping into his jacket as Enora finished fastening her skirt and pulled on her top, beginning to button it up. “Since we don't have a ship at the moment, we're just along for the ride,” he dismissed the topic. “Still, I wonder…” he frowned. Ester jumped on the opening.

“Wonder what, Gram?” she asked intently.

“Looking at the situation, all the action has been on the frontier. Even with the pressure on pirates, there hasn't been anything near the major city-ships or any incidents on the shipping lanes. I can't help but wonder why the incidents are all on the frontier,” he explained.

“Captain Elizabeth and I had the same thought, actually,” replied Ester, slipping her head ornament into place. “It is one of the reasons that we want to put in at Liberty,” said the First Officer. “If we can get in touch with the major pirate factions, we can effectively get a picture of nearly all of Mars,” she explained. “Then, once we know where to look, we were planning a bit of a hunting expedition,” finished the Naval Witch.

“Hunting, hmm?” came Vess's voice. “Sounds like fun,” she said darkly. Gram was sometimes caught off-guard by Vess's grudge-holding capacity.

“What I want to know is how that bastard Lauren fits into this puzzle,” contributed Enora, combing her hair with her fingers as she stepped into her shoes. “Uh, no offense, Vess,” she added. Vestemona shook her head.

“I'm no longer his adopted daughter, Enora,” said the older girl. “When I saw him for what he was, I chose to abandon his name,” she assured the younger girl. “I bet that his adopting me was for his image,” she added, her tone detached and analytical. “After all, adopting a Martian orphan girl is good PR for him,” she concluded.

“Yeah,” agreed Enora, whose dislike of the man had grown to a nearly pathological degree. “I mean, why adopt a young teenage girl, rather than a younger kid? And why pick such a beautiful one, if not for photo-op appeal?” she added. Vess considered that.

“You know, I never really thought about it, but my departure from Mars was like a celebrity event, as was my arrival on Earth. Everywhere I went, there was usually a photographer or two, and at any social event, I was always instructed what to say and what not to say if someone asked me something about Lauren.” Vess's eyes narrowed. That fucking `personal assistant' was writing my speeches for me, and I didn't even notice! she seethed.

“Really?” asked Enora, thoughtfully tapping her chin. “Ester, does Liberty have off-planet links available?” she asked, her tone intent. Ester nodded.

“Assuming that nothing has happened to the pirate stronghold, yes, it does,” she confirmed. “Why ask?” wondered Ester. Enora smiled smugly.

“I have a vid-message to send to someone on Earth,” she purred. Even if I might not be allowed back on Earth, grandpa should be able to use this bit of info to his advantage, she reasoned.

“Causing someone grief, Enora?” asked Gram, curious, but not concerned. Enora nodded emphatically.

“I certainly hope so!” she replied forcefully. “After the trouble that that Lauren bastard caused me and grandpa, a little pay-back is in order!” she declared hotly as the four moved out of the changing room and toward the mess hall for some coffee.

“Just what did happen to you, Enora?” wondered Vess. She had heard a compressed, edited version of it, but she was still curious. Enora smiled at the question.

“Well, since we have the time, I guess I could fill in some details,” said the girl. Before they knew it, they were listening to Enora tell them of her school life on Earth, about her friends, through her sudden departure from school, to her breaking her promise to her grandpa, to her arrival on Mars as an Earth Forces trooper, to her meeting with Doolittle, to her arrival at Ligaoga and her meeting with Granny Garma.

“You've been busy, Enora,” said Gram, impressed. The teenager beamed at his words.

“I just did what I had to do, Gram,” she played off her choices.

“So, Rosetta is moving up the ranks,” mused Vess, a small smile on her face. “That's good,” she added. She had been a little worried that her actions on Mars had damaged the career tracks of Rosetta and Rich, not to mention Doolittle. Sneaking a glance at Gram, she found that she couldn't feel any remorse for endangering her friends' careers. For Gram, it would have been worth sending them to the stockade, she thought resolutely. “I am relieved that my actions didn't cost Doolittle his hide,” she added.

“Hardly,” scoffed Enora. “That guy is impossible to pin down,” she explained. “He's got so many angles working, it's hard to tell what side he is on at any one time,” she mused. Vess nodded.

“I got the same impression from him,” agreed the older girl. “About all I would count on from him is that he is on the side of Mars,” she said. “His methodology and definitions might be unknown, but he definitely wants Mars to be free and independent of Earth rule,” she shared with the group.

“Is this desire wide-spread in the Mars Defense Force?” wondered Ester, curious. If there is a way to defuse this situation, it will likely have to be done through what amounts to the political process of Mars - the Mars Defense Force, she thought to herself. Knowing who was who and on what side could prove valuable to the pirates of the Aurora and their outlaw friends on the Hope.

Vess frowned. “I didn't get to know a lot of the high-ranking officers other than Doolittle, but I have to say that most of them are either indifferent to independence or prefer to have Mars under Earth control,” she said. She recalled the attitude of the admiral who had had her locked up after the first battle of Ligaoga. “In fact, some of them see the MDF as a stepping stone to Earth Forces postings,” the girl added. “I never paid close attention to the political side of things,” she smiled at Gram. “Too busy chasing someone high and low,” she winked at Gram.

“I know she isn't a popular topic on this ship,” began Enora, “but Anna Grace has been a great help to me, and she wants to see Mars free of Earth oversight,” the girl assured them. “Most of her staff seems to be either career politicians or bureaucrats, which means that they will probably go with whatever position gives them the most power and influence; not to mention which side guarantees their positions,” she added cynically. Seeing the three others looking at her, she shrugged. “Hey, I'm the granddaughter of the President of Earth! Of course I picked up some political acumen,” she dismissed her skills.

“So, we have a split military faction, and a nominally-friendly government structure hamstrung by personal greed in the ranks,” summarized Ester. This could get ugly before it is said and done, she reflected.

“Are you thinking of approaching the MDF?” Vess anticipated. Ester sighed.

“It might come to that, Vess,” she admitted, “but not until we find out what is really happening on the frontier,” she said firmly. “Too many pieces don't fit together to approach the government or military factions right now,” was her final analysis. I need to brief Captain Elizabeth and Clara on this topic, she made a mental note.

“So, we're still heading for Liberty, then,” mused Gram. Ester nodded.

“Unless you or Vess have a different destination,” she confirmed. Vess and Gram exchanged looks.

“Liberty it is,” said the two of them together.

-

The sudden blaring of the ship-wide alarm woke the off-duty crew of the Ship of Aurora. “Enemy ships approaching,” came MAKI's voice over the squawk box. “All crew to report to battle stations,” added the AI. Gram and Vess had leapt out of bed at the first note of the alarm, Vess's gun in her hand. Seeing that Ester was missing, they figured that she must be on watch. That was confirmed moments later.

“Yagami, Junior,” came Ester's voice, calm and steady. “Deploy immediately. Enemy RB units are closing in on us from three o'clock. Milhe, prepare a wire-guided torpedo for launch, anti-ship configuration,” the Naval Witch directed. Vess and Gram were dressed when Ester finished talking, the pair donning their jackets as they rushed for the bridge.

Behind and below them, Gram heard the familiar sound of the cordless RBs launching from the vertical bays of the Aurora. Rushing onto the bridge, they found Captain Elizabeth at the wheel, Ester at her station with Poipoider and Clara at the other stations. The Captain glanced at the two. “Morning, Gram, Vess,” she said casually.

“What are we dealing with, Captain?” asked Gram. “Earth Forces? MDF? Pirates?” he wondered.

“Signature suggests pirate vessels,” came Ester's voice.

“Better assume them to be like the ones we hit off Morgan Drift,” warned Vess. “I wish I had my Flick,” she snarled. Gram admitted to himself that he missed his own Vector of Hope.

“Well, if they try ramming us, they'll regret it!” said the tall, strong woman at the wheel. Gram chuckled as he recalled the lengths that she had gone to in order to track down the hit-and-run sub that had scratched her ship's side. Her hammerhead ship was reinforced for ramming, so if they tried the same trick with her, they would be crushed like an empty beer can.

“Captain, we have intercepted the RBs,” reported Yagami. “They're corded H-class frames,” he said even as he destroyed a pair of them. Vess's expression was thoughtful.

“Yagami,” she called out, “see if you can isolate the point on the enemy ship where the cables disappear,” she said.

“Ok, but why?” he wondered. It was easier to destroy them at a distance from the main system.

“Just do it!” snapped Vess. “I'll explain later,” she added soothingly.

“You heard her,” reinforced Elizabeth.

“I'm on it,” confirmed Yagami. “Junior, keep them off me,” he said.

“MAKI,” said Gram, “can you tell if there are any other ships of any types near our position?” he asked the AI.

“Negative return, Gram,” said the ship's system. “However, the sensors are limited in this canyon system,” she added.

“Thinking diversionary action?” guessed Poipoider. Gram shrugged.

“We got jumped outside Taklen, then again outside Morgan Drift. Now, those might have been coincidental encounters, but I bet they are working in packs,” he said.

“Aki, run the Ogre up and see if there is any reading from a higher plane,” directed Captain Elizabeth.

“Aye, aye, Captain,” came the response, one of the corded units rising from the ship.

“Vess, the cables are running into the bow of the ship, beside two frames for the RB units,” Yagami reported. Vess nodded to herself.

“How big is the target, Yagami?” she asked him.

“You mean the enemy ship?” he asked. “I'd say patrol ship size; maybe corvette size,” he said, dodging a spread of defense mines. “It carries side-mounted defense mines, so it's probably a patrol ship,” he added.

“Yagami, see if you can cut through the hull, just forward of the sail,” directed Vess. “If you can cut the hull, run a diagonal cut from topside to port bow. You are looking for a pressure-hull attachment point for the remote boxes for those cables. If you can find it, try and bring it back here,” said the girl, her mind clearly running a few steps ahead. “Milhe, do you have a lock on that ship?” she asked.

“I do,” he confirmed. Vess glanced at Elizabeth. “Captain, is the ship broadcasting anything - anything at all?” she wondered.

“Clara?” asked the Captain. The cat scanned the communication station.

“Nothing that we can detect, Vess,” said the feline. Vess's smile scared the crew.

“Junior,” she called out, teeth bared, “if you've mopped up the last of the RBs, I need you to make a pass along the target ship. If you see any cables or antenna, cut them off,” she directed the young man.

“Who died and…?!” began the pink-haired young man.

“Do it!” roared Elizabeth.

“Milhe, be ready to send them to the bottom,” she said. Yagami had been cutting away at the hull.

“Vestemona,” he called out. “I think I found what you are looking for,” he reported.

“Grab it and get your ass back here,” replied Vess immediately. “Junior? Are you sitting on your ass or have you completed that sweep?” she demanded aggressively.

“Keep your shirt on!” he yelled back. “Nothing to see anyway,” he huffed.

“Pull back to the ship, Junior,” said Gram, suddenly understanding where Vess's thoughts were going. “Yagami, you've got about ten seconds,” he added.

“Milhe, send it,” came Vess's clipped voice.

“Torpedo in the water,” came the reply. “Tracking is solid, signal is clear,” he added.

“Got it!” came Yagami's voice. “Returning to the ship now,” he added, his RB shooting toward his ship, the chunk of machinery in his arms. Seeing the bubble trail of the torpedo zipping toward the enemy ship, he glanced over to make sure that Junior was keeping up.

“Captain!” came Aki's excited voice. “Faint sonar echo! Range twelve nautical miles and closing!”

“Get your units secured on the double!” replied Captain Elizabeth. “Ester, once the RBs are back, we're running for it!” she said.

“Aye, aye, Captain!” responded the first officer. From outside the hull, they heard a distant thud as the torpedo hit the enemy ship.

“Enemy target has been destroyed,” MAKI said clinically. “Junior and Yagami's units are docking now, Aki's units will be secure in twelve seconds,” added the AI.

“As soon as they are locked in place, we're outta here!” ordered Elizabeth. “Ester! Flank on heading one six one, deep as we can. Fire scent torpedoes once we are beyond acoustic range of probable contact, reduce to two thirds and come around to zero six one heading,” she continued. “We'll have to come to Liberty by the back door, it seems,” she mused.

“Understood,” confirmed Ester from her station. Vess glanced at Gram as she turned for the hatch.

“Hey, you going to tell us about that box?” asked Elizabeth. Vess glanced at the woman.

“Answers, Captain, answers,” she replied darkly.

-

Liberty city-ship was a bottom-type ship, located in the wall of a half-collapsed ravine that ran up the side of a mountain. It was old, off the beaten path, and not easy to find. It was also defensible, which made it appealing to the pirates who had taken over the city in its entirety decades ago. To say that it was a rough city-ship was like saying that a man hit by lightening was feeling under the weather: it just didn't do the situation justice.

Still, for all the rough and rowdy inhabitants and visitors, it was a surprisingly safe town, provided that you were willing to be responsible for yourself. Being good with fists, sword and/or gun didn't hurt any, either. As a trading, supply and exchange port, it had a large contingent of merchants and businessmen - some with their families - and plenty of supplies of all kinds.

Most important to the Aurora, however, was the fact that all the pirates gossiped and exchanged information here. One port - thousands of eyes. If anyone knew what was going on all over Mars, it was the crews who put into Liberty. As the Aurora settled into a nice spot on the outskirts of the city, the shore party prepared to go into the city. Vess, Gram, Ester, Milhe, Aki, Neli and Poipoider were the chosen shore party.

Vess was looking forward to the visit, though none of the crew of the ship had any idea why the girl was so eager to see the pirate stronghold. She had spent an entire day in the hanger with the recovered piece of the enemy sub while the ship carefully ensured that it eluded any pursuit before turning back for Liberty. With the help of Neli and Gram, she had dissected the roughly-extracted piece of metal. Deep in its guts, she had found a core of electronics, and after finding the way to disassemble it, she had extracted the core software for the RB control cables.

The blonde girl revealed to Gram and Ester that she had had extra training on the RB units as part of her Elite certification, and had gotten a little curious about the mechanisms of the units, which spurred her to further research the parts of the system. In Ester's cabin, with a data link to MAKI, Vess was able to establish that the controller software was Earth Forces issue, current, and unmodified. With that being known, she had managed to pull up the build certification code from the unit, and now that she had that, all she needed was a link off-planet to see if she could determine what unit had taken delivery of that software version certification.

When Enora had heard about it, she had wanted to go with the shore party. Gram talked her out of it, reminding her of the danger she had found herself in last time she had been there. Temporarily stymied, the girl had swiftly adjusted her plans, telling Vess that she would lend her her PCD. It hadn't taken the teenager long to show Vess what she needed to know to work the highly-advanced device. After making sure that Vess knew what she was doing, Enora had slipped off to find a quiet corner to make some vid-messages for Vess to send for her once she got into Liberty.

Now, Vess was on the streets of Liberty with her boyfriend, lover and partner, and she would not allow anything to stand in her way. Looking around, she took a deep breath and exhaled before looking at the others. “Gram, Ester,” she said, smiling an eager smile, “shall we?”

Gram smiled back, Ester nodding. Before parting ways with the others, she looked back at the other four of the shore party. “Milhe, Neli, Aki, Poipoider,” she called the roll, “you know what has to be done and what we need,” she said quietly. “Let's get it done as fast as possible.”

“Aye,” agreed Milhe, immediately moving off with Neli. Aki and Poipoider moved off in a different direction as Ester caught up with Gram and Vess. Neli and Milhe were getting parts and weapons for the ship, while Poipoider and Aki were getting information. Ester, Gram and Vess were working communications and intelligence. First and foremost on their list was communications. Gram lead the two toward the nearest off-planet communications shop, and Vess sent Enora's vid-mails, emails, text messages and voicemail before using the hypernet browser in the PCD to dig up information on the software she had gotten from the enemy ship.

As Vess tended to that, Gram and Ester did their own reaching out and touching. It wasn't long before all three had finished. As they moved out of the shop that catered to off-planet communication, the three of them began the second phase of their job: they began to ask questions. By the time that the other four managed to find them, they had a pretty good idea of what was happening. Rather than risk talking in the town or sleeping there, they fell back to the ship.

“So, were you successful in tracking that software?” wondered Ester as they approached their ship in the transfer sub. Vess nodded.

“Yes,” she confirmed. “The build that I have matches a version that was sold to Earth Forces Special Operations Division,” she shared. “With the access codes that Rosetta gave Enora, and the information that she sent, it is apparent that Earth has at least one special forces unit operating covertly here on Mars. What their objective is I wasn't able to discover, but they are not attached to normal Earth Forces Provisional command here on Mars.” The girl gathered her thoughts. “In fact, I would say that EFM doesn't even know that they are on-planet,” she frowned. How would you hide something like that? she wondered.

“How about the situation with supplies and weapons?” asked Ester of Neli and Milhe. The two exchanged looks.

“We found a shipment of current Earth Forces-issue torpedoes, and some supply of missiles and mines,” reported Milhe. “RB parts are hard to find right now, and the entire arms market is unstable and jittery,” reported the weapons officer of the Aurora. Neli picked up the report.

“Machine parts are getting insanely expensive, and the supply is less than idea. As with the arms market, the machine shops are jittery and suspicious. I found out that there have been a lot of odd movements of parts to certain frontier city-ships, who in turn, claim to have never gotten the shipments.”

“Back to the frontier, again,” murmured Vess. Gram made no comment.

“How about reports of engagements?” asked the first officer.

“Dozens of smaller, less skilled ships are gone,” replied Poipoider. “Additionally, there is a marked increase in the number of MDF and Earth patrol craft being sunk. Of course,” he said sardonically, “everyone claims that Kuberness and we are the ones doing the sinking.”

“Naturally,” dismissed Ester. Poipoider got back to business.

“A rough count places it at better than thirty patrol ships and frigates, while more than fifty pirate ships are missing,” he replied. Sensing that Ester's next question would be for details, he headed her off. “The locations are all over Mars, you see,” he explained. “No pattern that I could determine, nor is there any reason behind the ships. I head that the Mako, the Singing Swallow, and the Clinton's Intern were all sunk in one week. That makes a high-value target, a penny-pirate target and a bunch of posers all sunk in the same week at points from Gateway to Canyon Town to the back side of Prichert's Drift.”

“I heard that in addition to Taklen, two other city-ships have been destroyed,” said Aki. “I heard from a usually reliable source that High Range city-ship sank in the northern polar region, and the skinny says that Bottom Town imploded two weeks ago,” the young man said. Ester frowned.

“High Range was a floating city-ship that specialized in atmospheric research, and Bottom Town was a mineral-mining and refining city deep in the trench,” she said. “Taklen was a bottom-type, and Morgan Drift was an anchored type with auxiliary floatation systems in case of anchor failure. What's the pattern?” she wondered.

-

Gram and Vess sat at a small table in a Liberty deli, having just wrapped up lunch on the third day at the pirate city-ship. Today, it was the two of them as a team, with Poipoider and Junior running as the other team. Enora had gone with them the day before, and they had found that the girl was as much a trouble magnet as she had been last time, though thankfully, they had not run into Kuberness this time. Between Gram and Vess, Enora had been perfectly safe from the thugs and low-lives that had tried to accost her.

Even so, Enora had managed to find some clothes that worked better for daily ship-wear than her skirt and blouse outfit. She had also found some other items that caught her eye. Vess had found herself drawn into Enora's spending spree, and now had a few item in her kit that she had never thought of buying herself since her return to Mars. Vess had also seen a pattern to the other girl's purchases, but didn't care to comment at the time.

“So,” said Gram, draining the last of his beer, “what should we do next?” he asked her. Vess smiled at him.

“Doesn't matter to me,” she dismissed. Spending time with Gram was her favorite activity, after all. “We've pretty much mined this place dry, anyway,” she pointed out. Gram nodded.

“True,” he said. Together, the two rose and casually exited the deli, Vess easily avoiding the wandering hands of most of the patrons. Turning toward the central gallery of shops and businesses, the two began to aimlessly walk around, quietly talking together as they passed time.

Their quietly enjoyment of the day was interrupted by a young kid running into Vess. “Hey, careful,” scolded Vess, absently checking to make sure that nothing had been lifted from her vest. The young kid glared at her.

“Fuck you, bitch!” he muttered aggressively. Vess's eyes narrowed as she studied him.

“You ran into me, shit head,” she reminded him. “Seems to me that that makes you the bitch,” she added flatly. Gram kept a careful watch on the kid as well.

“Humph!” he snorted dismissively. “Women should stick to girly things like having babies and making supper, not trying to act tough,” he declared. Vess smiled a hard smile at him.

“And snot-nosed brats like you should stay with your mommas so you don't get your ass kicked,” said the blonde. Timidity was not one of Vess's faults, after all.

“Vess,” said Gram quietly. He knew that this could easily escalate.

“Listen to your man, girl,” the kid jumped back in. Gram sighed, then sucker-punched the kid.

“No, kid, you listen,” he said calmly as the kid sank to his knees, clutching his gut. “Running your mouth without anything to back it up will get you killed in short order, so don't do it, ok?” he said, stepping past the punk. Vess stepped past him on the other side. Moving past the kid, Vess and Gram resumed their walk. Behind the two, the kid recovered and got to his feet, glancing at the two before running down the street, still holding his stomach where Gram had sucker-punched him. Stopping at a small shop, he made his way to two men who were sitting back from the entrance.

Meanwhile, Gram and Vess continued their aimless stroll, eventually finding themselves at the edges of the city-ship's main deck. Glancing at his watch, Gram showed it to Vess, who nodded. It was almost time to meet up with Junior and Poipoider back at the dock, so they began to work their way back to the main dock area. As they worked through the thinning crowds, Vess began to feel an itchy sensation in her spine. Noticing that Vess seemed distracted, Gram asked her what was wrong.

“Don't know,” she said, puzzled. “It's almost like someone is watching me,” she explained. It felt like this on Morgan Drift, too, she recalled uneasily. Gram frowned, glancing around.

“Doesn't look like anything is out of place,” he mused. Vess felt the sensation getting stronger.

“Let's get moving, Gram,” she said tensely. The two immediately resumed their trek to the dock, but at a greater pace. Peeking at the reflections in the shops that had windows, Gram tried to determine if they were being followed or not. No one really stood out, though. Even so, Gram was on edge because Vess was clearly bothered by something.

That sense of unease saved their lives. As they neared the massive automatic hatch to the dock area, four men exploded out of a narrow, dim alley between two abandoned shops, two going for each of them. Gram went down as one dove high at him and the other went after his legs. But just because he went down, didn't mean that he stayed down. Having worked with the Martian circus, he tucked, rolled and came back up after shaking off the man who had tried the high tackle. Twisting, he kicked at the second man who had gone after his feet, managing to connect with the man's head. Turing to face the second man, he skipped back from a nasty knife slash.

Vess had fared a little better, having managed to keep herself from going down, but was in a bad defensive position because she had been forced to move away from Gram's side in her evasion. Separated and facing two-to-one odds, Gram and Vess weren't exactly in their preferred fighting situation. Vess had no time to think about that, though, since the two on her came right in on her, and she had to concentrate on not getting wrapped up.

Gram was fending off his two with a mix of maneuvering and striking, though - like Vess - he was intent on not getting into a grapple if he could avoid it. Two on one in a grapple was a loss for the one. The knife in the hand of the first man was a problem he would have to address, as well. Man, what I wouldn't give to have some of the crew here with us! he thought fleetingly as he looked for an opening to remove the knife from the equation.

Vess was facing her two with what she had learned in Earth Forces unarmed combat courses, though she did notice that the two men attacking her seemed to have taken the same courses as she had. The girl desperately wanted to bring her gun into play, but to do so without an opening was to risk having it taken away from her or to have the attackers use it as an opening of their own. Batting aside a fist toward her face with her off-hand palm, she countered with a low jab followed immediately with a crossing elbow for the temple. The man slipped low as his partner came in with a front kick, forcing Vess to hop back to clear the range of the kick.

Gram found himself dealing with a lot of short, fast, reversing slashes from the double-edged combat knife. No pirate work here, he reflected in a tiny portion of his brain. Gotta get his arm in a bind and get that knife out of his hand, he thought. His chance came out of the blue as the second man got too far forward, forcing the knife man to break a curving slash at Gram, who lunged in and caught the knife man's wrist swiftly turning and pushing on it before slapping the back of the extended hand, knocking the knife away from the man's grip. Disarmed, the man pushed forward as hard as he could, seeking to throw Gram onto his back in the street.

Vess had cleared the second man's kick when she was suddenly jerked off balance and to the street. The first man had managed to grab the bottom edge of her jacket, and had used it and his weight to literally snatch her off her feet. Immediately, he leapt on her waist, his fist driving into her gut as his partner recovered from the missed kick and jumped on her torso, catching one of her arms and trying to get it into a lock. Damn it! snarled Vess, her mobility gone and the two men on her. Catching a glimpse of Gram tangled up with his two, she knew that she would have to find a way out on her own, or it would be over before Gram could help her.

Gram got his hands on the knife man's belt and lifted and pulled as he bent a knee in to keep the man's head down, hoping to slam the man head-first into the metal decking. The problem was that the second man was trying to choke him from the side. Damn it! he thought. He had partial control of both men, but full control of neither. Freeing a hand, he brought a hammer fist down on the first man's exposed kidneys as hard as he could before jamming it to his side and seizing the second man's balls. Once he had a handful of man grapes, he tried his damnedest to make wine out of them. The kidney punch and testicle squeeze had some noticeable effect on his opponents, as the second man screamed and let go of his neck in an attempt to tear his hand off his nuts, and the first man's knees collapsed, hands over his kidneys.

Vess slammed her forehead into the face of the man holding her arms, repeating it when it didn't have the desired effect, while she tried to use her kneed to dislodge the man on her hips. Since he was shielding his groin, she had to try for some short ribs, but wasn't getting good contact or sufficient force behind the blows. The one holding her arms let go of one of her arms to punch her in the face, and Vess immediately pushed her hand behind her back even as the man punched her again before trying to regain control of her arm. On her hips, the second man was trying to fend off her frenzied knee work, but was slowly, steadily subduing her.

Gram caught his balance as the first man collapsed, stepped back, and kicked at his head. His boot made contact with the man's chin, knocking him out almost immediately. Rather be lucky than good, thought Gram fleetingly, before turning to the second man, who was still clutching his balls with one hand, his other under his jacket. Leaping forward, Gram closed with him even as his hand cleared the jacket. Driving his kneed into the man's face, Gram felt a poke on his thigh, followed by a spike of pain and a hot feeling. Looking down, he saw a knife like the first man had used stuck in the upper portion of his thigh. Fuck! was his first thought; he hated getting hurt, after all. Vess! was he second. He turned to help his girlfriend.

Vess's legs were pinned now, and the man on her hips was about to force the air out of her lungs with his fist, but Vess was pre-occupied with her free hand. Almost got it, she thought grimly. The guy on her torso was prying on her free arm, attempting to force it out from under her and back into his control. He was kneeling on her other arm, one hand on her forehead to keep her from head-butting him again, and the other on her free arm. “Give it up, bitch,” he snarled, face red. Vess grunted, feeling her hand close on her goal.

Gram started to straighten his leg to run over to Vess when he was reminded of the knife in his thigh. “Shit,” he hissed, realizing that his mobility was limited at the moment. Seeing the man drag Vess's arm out from under her body, his heart skipped a beat as he thought she had been overpowered. That thought was fleeting, however, as the man on her hips suddenly reeled back, the sharp report of her sidearm echoing through the streets. Vess double-tapped the man on her hips before bending her elbow to bring the gun on target with the man on her torso, who had frozen at the unexpected report of her gun. Another double-tap and he was gone as well.

Sitting up, Vess grimaced as her body made clear that it would be bruised up pretty good from the fracas. Looking over to Gram, she saw the blade stuck in his thigh. All thoughts of her own dings vanished as she jumped to her feet and dashed to his side, sinking to her knees to check the wound. “Gram, don't move!” she hissed, swiftly untying her pink sash from around her waist and preparing to bandage the wound. Experimentally tugging on the knife, she found it was stuck fast, and decided to leave it in for the time being, efficiently wrapping the sash around his thigh and tying it off. Pulling his arm over her shoulder, she stood, helping support him as she scanned the area for any more combatants. Seeing none, she helped Gram toward the dock where the transfer sub waited.

-

“Sala!” came Vess's voice as soon as the small sub had docked on the Aurora, “Gram's been hurt!” she yelled, helping Gram out of the sub with the help of Poipoider. Once he had climbed down from the tower of the sub, Vess once more slung his arm over her shoulder and the two made straight for the infirmary. They reached the hatch just as Megumi opened it for them.

“Vess, bring him over here,” said the doctor crisply, indicating a table. Vess did so, helping Gram onto the table. Sala quickly untied the sash and exposed the wound. Looking at it, Sala sighed in relief. “It appears to be a simple puncture wound to the muscle tissue,” she said. “No major nerves, tendons or arteries are in that part of the leg,” she explained to Vess. Pressing on the thigh just above the knife, Sala took the handle of the knife and got a good grip. “I'm sorry, Gram,” she said professionally, “but this will hurt,” she warned him; and then immediately jerked the knife free, grunting softly as she did. Other than a single small spurt as the blade came free, the wound barely bled.

“Ugh!” grunted Gram as the blade cleared his thigh. Sala immediately reached for her scissors. Seeing that, Gram shook his head. “Don't cut up my favorite pair of pants, Sala,” he said tightly, swiftly unbuckling his belt and begging to work on his pants.

“Forget the pants, Gram!” barked Vess. Gram managed a smile for her.

“Vess, I've been hurt worse, you know,” he reminded her. Vess glared at him.

“Stubborn idiot,” she disapproved of his priorities. Gram hummed as he pushed his pants down so Sala could treat the wound.

“Are you sure you'll be ok?” came Megumi's voice from Vess's side. Blinking, Vess looked down to see Megumi standing right beside her, an ice pack in her hand. Sala washed the wound with disinfectant before reaching for some bandages.

“He'll be fine, Megu-chan,” assured Sala. “What is the ice for?” wondered the older woman.

“Here, Vess,” said the girl, holding out the ice pack. “For your face,” she explained. Vess frowned, leaning back to catch sight of her face in the mirror. Seeing her reflection, she blinked. Her left cheek was swollen and bruised, and unless she missed her guess, she would have a shiner as well from where the man had punched her. Taking the ice pack, she pressed it to her face.

“Thanks, Megumi,” she said. Didn't even feel it, she thought to herself. Too focused on Gram, I guess, she smiled to herself. Just then, Enora leapt through the hatch.

“Gram!” she exclaimed, sprinting to the side of the bed, almost colliding with Sala. “God, Gram, are you ok?!” she demanded. Gram chuckled as he reached out and patted Enora's head.

“I'll be fine, Enora, promise,” he soothed her. “Just got a small puncture in my leg, that's all,” he explained. “It hardly even hurts,” he added as Sala carefully finished securing the bandage, a small, thin red mark betraying the wound as his blood sluggishly seeped into the gauze. As Enora helped Gram carefully swing his legs over the edge of the bed and stand, Sala turned to Vess.

“Ok, Vestemona,” said the doctor firmly, “let's take a look at you,” she ordered. Vess blinked.

“I'm fine, Sala,” she said. The tall, dark-skinned woman was unimpressed with that claim.

“Then, there is no reason not to let me check you over, is there?” she countered. Sighing, Vess pulled the ice pack away from her face. Sala swiftly checked over Vess's face, finding that other than bruising, there seemed to be little damage; though she spotted a small spot of blood at the corner of Vess's mouth. “Any teeth loose?” she wondered. Vess shook her head. Sala took the ice pack from Vess and checked her hands. “Hmm,” hummed the doctor. “Lie down on the bed, Vess,” she said. Growling in annoyance, she did as asked, pausing as the doctor removed her vest and set her gun on top of the vest.

Situating the ice pack so the pillow held it in place, Vess waited as patiently as she could while Sala cleaned and bandaged her hands. Her right hand was scratched and bruised from being jammed between the hard decking and her back, and her left hand had bloodied knuckles from a missed punch. There was also a small, shallow cut along the top of her left wrist. Try as she might, Vess had no idea how that could have happened. Sala cleaned her hands with disinfectant, dabbed some ointment on the scraped and carefully sealed them with bio-film bandages. Thinking she was done, Vess started to sit up, only to have Sala push her back down. “Not so fast,” said the doctor calmly, beginning to check Vess's arms, neck and chest for broken bones or swelling.

“I told you, Sala,” repeated Vess petulantly, “I'm fine!” Sala just nodded in a manner that told Vess that she wasn't paying her any mind. Unzipping Vess's body suit, Sala checked her taunt belly, finding some bruises from the blows the man had given her, but after carefully examining the hits, she determined that it was bruising, and not internal bleeding.

“I expect to see you back here tomorrow evening, Vess,” directed the doctor. “If you feel any pain in your abdomen, or you begin to get light-headed or dizzy, come see me immediately,” she directed crisply.

“Yes, doctor,” gritted out Vess, slipping off the bed and reaching for her gun and vest. Before slipping the gun into its holster, she swapped the magazine for a fresh one from her vest pocket, sticking the partially-spent magazine in a different pocket to be topped off later. Shrugging to settle her vest, the girl pulled her suit's zipper up to just below her breasts before snagging Gram's pants from the floor. “Looks like it can be patched,” she muttered to herself, noting the small spot of blood around the clean slice.

“Man, what a knife!” came Junior's voice from behind them. He was holding the blade that had been stabbed into Gram's leg. While the attention of the others had been on Gram and Vess, he and Aki had slipped into the infirmary, unnoticed. Vess glanced at the knife, then took a longer look.

“That's the standard issue fighting knife of Earth Forces,” she blurted out. “Come to think about it, the two on me seemed to know the unarmed combat style as well,” she recalled.

“Are you sure?” came Ester's voice from the hatch. Looking over, the group saw Ester and Captain Elizabeth standing just inside the hatch. Vess nodded.

“I'm sure,” she said. Second-best marks in unarmed combat, and as an Elite, I was issued one of those as well, she recalled.

“You mean you and Gram took on two on one?!” gaped Junior. Vess nodded.

“Wasn't much of a choice, really,” she shrugged it off. Ester gave Vess an assessing look, then glanced at Gram, who was slowly moving his leg around to see what he could and couldn't do for the next few days. Enora was hugging his chest from the side, supposedly to keep him steady. They both deliberately under-performed in the Captain's little test, she re-confirmed. The more she got to know about Gram and Vess, the more fascinated with them she became.

“Cool!” exclaimed Junior, still admiring the knife. “Hey, Gram, can I have this?!” he asked eagerly. Gram shook his head.

“Sure, if it means that much to you, Junior,” he said disbelievingly. Vess didn't think that letting the sawed-off runt have the knife was such a good idea; but at the same time, she didn't care enough about the pink-haired boy to argue with Gram about it.

“Be careful with it, Junior,” she warned him. “Mishandle it, and you will be missing some fingers,” she cautioned. The young man blinked at her warning, then sniffed dismissively.

“It'll be fine,” he scoffed. “Just have to make a sheath for it,” he noted.

“You have to use polymer and fibermat,” said Vess. “Anything else will swiftly cut itself to pieces on that edge.”

“Sounds like we need to have another talk,” mused Elizabeth thoughtfully. Gram and Vess shared a glance.

“Most likely,” they said in unison, before laughing.

“We'll come to the bridge once we get Gram some pants,” promised Vess, seeing her boyfriend standing there in his boxers. Not that I mind the view… she thought to herself happily. She noticed Enora's tight hug on Gram's chest. She has it bad, contemplated Vess. “Come on, Gram,” said the blonde, tossing her head toward the hatch.

“Vess, take these,” came Sala's voice, holding out some pills. “It will help with the headache,” she explained. Vess took the pills and tossed them back.

“Thanks, Sala,” said the blonde. Together with Enora, Gram headed toward the cabin he and Vess shared with Ester. Vess set his cut and stained pants aside to be washed and patched later, pulling a fresh pair from his bag. Turning to Gram, she smiled when she saw that Enora had yet to release him. “Enora, you might want to release him so he can put his pants on,” she pointed out. The younger girl blinked at Vess before blushing and easing her grip on the young man. Gram just shook his head as he carefully stepped into the pants his lover offered him.

Once his pants were fastened, he and Vess moved off to the bridge, the only sign that he had been injured a slight favoring of his right leg. Enora trailed along behind the pair, reliving the feel of having Gram hugged tight to her. Looking at the taller, curvier blonde, she felt a small spark of jealousy. You're so lucky, Vess, she thought a touch resentfully. You get to have Gram with you all the time!

On the bridge, the two related the story of the attack, starting with the odd feeling that Vess had gotten. Hearing about the funny feeling, Captain Elizabeth had had MAKI connect her to Megumi, who was with Sala in sick bay. Vess and Gram had been surprised to hear Megumi say that she had heard a dangerous voice in the sea, and had tried to reach Vess or Gram with her talents. It slightly worried the crew, this new capability that Megumi was developing. Gram just smiled at her and thanked her for saving their lives. Megumi had blushed at the compliment and smiled shyly at Gram.

As the rest of the incident was dissected, the question arose: why them, and why Liberty? Vess was certain that the four had been Special Forces troopers from Earth, given their gear and fighting styles. Gram wondered why the two of them had been targeted, rather than the whole ship; it wasn't like the other crews of pirates in Liberty didn't know where the ship was at anchor. Enora reminded him of the awe and fear that the mighty Ship of Aurora was held in by the other pirate crews. The only one that didn't fear them was Kuberness. Even the MDF and Earth Forces were leery of engaging them. Ester was more interested in what the enemy was doing in Liberty, which was a pirate stronghold.

MAKI suggested that the presence of the enemy in Liberty would most logically be to use it to both gather, and disseminate information. Gather information on what ships were operating in what regions, determine where pirates were getting their loot, and at the same time, spreading any disinformation that could misdirect the pirates, or bolster their propaganda campaign. Vess agreed with her assessment, reminding them that the modern battlefield turned on information.

Milhe had a concern of his own, and addressed it to the group at large: why hadn't the enemy just shot Gram and Vess, rather than risk a hand-to-hand engagement with them. For that matter, why hadn't they just knifed Vess when they had the chance? There wasn't a clear cut reason for that, though Vess did suggest that, since they were being dangled as the scapegoats, they were of more use to the enemy alive and in custody than dead in a pirate stronghold. The large weapons officer had observed that while they would be a better pawn if they were captured, they were far more dangerous to the enemy if they were both free and alive. Of the two, he said, if he were the enemy, he would rather kill them than risk a capture, as dead, they were removed from the equation.

Enora had taken issue with that. She reminded the group that this was not just a Mars issue, but lead back to Earth as well, so the politics of the situation was far greater than the immediate tactical equations. In politics, she explained, it wasn't right or wrong, truth or lies, but the path that one made for the opinions of the voters to follow. After all, the one who won was the one who kept his office come election time. Gram was surprised that the girl who was usually so normal and care-free was also so jaded and cynical about certain topics.

Enora went on to remind them that the most likely puppeteer was Lauren, and his goal appeared to be the Presidency of Earth. To do that, he had to dislodge the incumbent, President George Taft - her grandfather. If that were to be done, he would have to pull off a coupe that would boost his approval with voters across the board. The most likely way, as she saw it, was to push the Mars issue during the pre-vote period, and culminate it with a stunning achievement just before the polls opened; preferably one that made Taft look bad.

Captain Elizabeth considered that. With the debacle that had surrounded the God Stone and the Aurora's botched execution, Mars was a political hot potato on Earth, and Taft had gotten a little singed by the way that the whole thing went down, even though he wasn't involved. Lauren had lost a huge investment in Mars when she had flooded the chamber where the mineral life form was hibernating, and in addition, he had left fingerprints all over Mars when the thing blew up in his face. Not the least of those fingerprints were Poe, the Aurora, and Vess.

“So,” she thought out loud, “he needs to clean up the mess, drag Taft down, and set himself up as a leader. Since he doesn't want to spend more money on cleanup than he has to, he needs to economize the process. First, pull strings to get Earth Forces here on the sly. Second, have them force a large issue here on Mars, while also eliminating the pirate problem by turning them into the public enemies. Third, he has to leverage the reporting of the news from Mars on Earth to reflect that Taft isn't accomplishing anything. Then, finally, he miraculously steps in and resolves the situation just before election, thus pushing him to the lead for the Presidency,” she considered the steps he would have to take.

Enora considered that, frowning. “If that is how he plays it out, he might win,” she grudgingly admitted. “Grandpa told me that his weakest poll was on Mars/Earth cooperation,” she recalled, “and he told me that Lauren was his most probable challenger this election year,” she added.

“Not a bad plan,” mused Clara, her tail twitching.

“It has potential,” admitted Ester. Nodding to each other, the crew became aware that Gram and Vess were silent. Focusing on the two, they found their friend's eyes burning with such anger that all the pirate crew subconsciously eased away from them.

“Um, guys?” asked Enora hesitantly. Gram's hand was holding Vess's hand, the knuckles of both hands white.

“Bastard,” breathed Vess, her rage vibrating through the soft word. How many years did I zealously defend him?! How many times did I consider him better than Gram?! she silently snarled.

“No,” was all Gram said. We won't let him do this, he promised himself and Vess. Somehow, someway, we're going to destroy him, he vowed.

“Gram? Vess?” came Enora's voice. The two focused on her, the anger diminishing, but not dissipating.

“Yes, Enora?” responded Gram.

“What's wrong?” asked the girl, cautiously edging a little closer to the pair. “You look like your about to kill someone,” she half-joked.

“Mars is our home, Enora,” said Vess quietly, controlled. “We won't let anyone destroy it for their own gain,” she said.

“How many have died so far, Enora?” pressed Gram. “Everyone in Taklen, several in Morgan Drift; maybe two more city-ships, if the rumors are true,” he went on. “The crews of the pirates ships and the crews of the MDF ships sunk are gone. And for what?” he asked. Shaking his head, he answered his own question. “For one man's ego and self-importance, Enora.”

“I…” began Enora, not knowing what to say or how to say it.

Further conversation was disrupted by a distant thud, felt through the hull. MAKI immediately sounded the alarm. “Acoustic signature matches underwater explosion, approximate location: Liberty city-ship,” she reported.

“What?!” yelled Elizabeth.

“MAKI, is the explosion big enough to have destroyed the city-ship?” asked Ester immediately leaping past Enora to man her station, Clara landing on her shoulder a moment later.

“Negative, Ester,” replied the AI. “Explosion was insufficient to have breached the compartment system in the city-ship. Most probable source of explosion is small demolition charge,” the ship's system reported. “Pirate vessels are powering up engines,” she reported.

“Bring our own engines online,” commanded Elizabeth. “Scan for incoming ships, MAKI,” she directed. What now? wondered the woman tensely.