Looking at the nearly three dozen survivors of the recent space battle my heart sank. The ships fuel reserves were running low, air was escaping into the emptiness of space through cracks in the hull, and the reactors were heavily damaged and already shutting down, so to stretch our resources I thought we could enter cryogenic stasis to await rescue, but when we entered the stasis chamber all but four pods were destroyed.
Looking back to my crew I lowered my head in regret. My crew had served with me for almost ten years now and now...only three would survive.
"Help Her Majesty into one of the pods."
I gave a short order and two of my crew helped our injured and pregnant queen into one of the pods.
"I'm sorry Your Majesty. I have failed in my duty to keep you safe."
"Nonsense General. You had no way of knowing that the Akvari would break the treaty, and I am still alive. You have in no way failed us."
With her last word she placed her hand on her swollen belly. She smiled at me before laying down on the form fitting gel cushion. Pressing a button on the side I saluted and the crew followed suit as a clear cover slid down to cover the pod. Just before the pod closed all the way she voiced a goodbye.
"I pray to all the Gods that I see you again Marcus."
A small needle pierced her neck and as her eyes fluttered closed frost obscured the view of her face.
Lowering my arm I turned to face my crew.
"I can only think of one fair way to determine who goes in a po....."
"Captain!"
Anna, the Vice Captain of the ship cut me off before I could say more.
"When the battle was over and you went to check on Her Majesty the crew already voted on who gets the pods."
I just looked at her blankly.
"How did you know the pods were damaged?"
"During the battle I saw that one of the enemies particle beam cannons had landed a direct hit on this area of the ship. After you left I ran a diagnostic on this section and only saw 4 working pods."
I nodded for her to continue.
"As your Vice Captain I felt it was my responsibility to sort out this issue for you."
"Who did you all choose."
I made eye contact with each of my crew and they all gave a firm nod of support.
"It was unanimously decided that you, your wife, and myself would take the pods."
"UNACCEPTABLE!" I roared.
"That is no different than deciding that the highest ranked crew get them."
One of the crew from the back called out.
"That's not true Cap'n. You and the Vice Captain have saved our lives on numerous occasions, this is just us returning the favor...besides, it's not like we will die as soon as the pod closes."
Shaking my head I walked to a display screen and pulled up the ships proximity radar. There was a red dot icon representing the last enemy ship a short distance away from a green dot icon representing our ship.
"Just because the enemy has stopped firing doesn't mean the battle is over. We have one final weapon but it's a scorched earth weapon."
Turning back to my crew I continued.
"Anyone not in stasis will have their brains fried. Besides the queen only three others out of all of us here can live."
Their expressions flickered for a moment but what happened next brought a tear to my eye...as one, they all saluted.
"Our decision hasn't changed Captain. It has been an honor serving under you!"
Looking them over I hardened my resolve. I couldn't do nothing and let these people die like this. My mind races as I tried to think of something.
"The reactor room.....Everyone grab a space suit and all the battery packs you can carry and meet me in the reactor room."
They all looked confused.
"MOVE!"
With my order they all ran from the room except for my wife and Anna.
"The both of you get in your pods."
"What about you dear?"
"I'll be back soon but I want to make sure you're safe first."
They both nodded and a few moments later their pods activated and they entered stasis. Walking to the reactor room I only had to wait a short time before all of my crew arrived in space suits and their arms fully loaded with spare battery packs. When everyone was assembled and quiet I spoke.
"What I am about to tell you is classified information of the highest level. If you survive this, revealing this information is grounds for torture followed by the public execution of you and your families. If you do not survive telling you won't really matter."
"All of the star ships of the royal family are equipped with an enhanced EMP device. It uses all remaining power in the ship to detonate and the resulting energy wave will permanently fry any AI aboard it's own ship and all ships in the nearby area. Any biological beings caught in the wave will also be affected resulting in the electrical currents frying their brain."
"With the remaining power this ship has the wave will easily permanently disable any ship within 8-12 light days from here."
Looking around I saw awe in the faces of everyone present, after all, this is an amazing weapon. Activating another display screen to check the radar again there were no changes yet. 'Still not here yet? I still have some time.'
"The only problem is the reactor AIs. Without them to shut down the reactors properly they would quickly go critical and vaporize the entire ship and any survivors in stasis pods as well. To avoid that, both the reactor AIs and the entire room are hardened against EMP waves. With space suits on and being in here you all might be able to survive."
Looking around once more I gave a sad smile.
"I'm sorry. This is the best I can do."
They all nodded with mutters of 'thanks cap'n' and I turned to head back to the stasis chamber. Stopping I had to ask one more thing turning once more I spoke.
"I understand why you all voted for Anna and myself but why my wife? You all don't owe her anything."
There were chuckles and soft guffaws before one man stepped forward and spoke.
"We were asked not to say but if this is our last chance to talk we want to congratulate you."
From behind his back he pulled out a bottle of booze and others pulled out glasses.
"We were going to celebrate alone but since you asked, join us for a drink."
I was confused but accepted the glass as it was filled to the brim. Once everyone had a glass the first man spoke again.
"All together everyone. 3..2..1.."
"CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR WIFE'S PREGNANCY CAPTAIN!"
With those words they all slammed their drinks back but I nearly choked on mine as I fully processed their words. Pregnant? My wife is pregnant?!
"WHAT?!"
Before my thoughts could catch up I was already moving. Sprinting through the corridors and passageways back to the stasis chamber. Racing through the door I went to the pod my wife was in and was about to enter the wake up command when the rational part of my mind took over. The wake up process can take hours and it is near fatal to reenter stasis before at least a week has passed. Looking down at the frosted glass where my wife was I had a need to do...something. Hearing the pounding of feet behind me I turned to see everyone grinning at me. Looking over all of them I had an idea.
"Lily step forward."
One of the two surviving women looked confused but stepped forward from the crowd. Taking quick steps I closed in on her and placing a hand under each arm I lifted her into the air and spun in circles while laughing happily.
Lily squealed like a little girl before she caught herself and closed her mouth. Setting her down after a few more spins I apologized.
"Sorry lily. That's what I wanted to do with my wife but since she is in stasis I picked the girl with the closest size as a stand in."
Everyone looked back and forth between Lily and the other woman, Mary, confused. Closest in size? But they are nearly identical. Then all eyes fell on one part of Lily that was noticeably different than Mary, well two parts to be accurate. Feeling all eyes on her Lily followed their gaze down and flushed red to the tips of her pointed ears.
SLAP
A resounding crack echoed through the room as Lily landed a roundhouse slap on my right cheek.
"I'm still growing you jerk!"
And then she stomped out of the room. Mary stepped forward and patted me on the shoulder.
"You kind of had that coming Captain. Lily is self conscious about her smaller than average bust."
"But why? What's so great about big boobs? They are just unneeded fat."
SLAP
Another resounding crack echoed through the room even louder than the first as I was slapped again but on the left cheek this time and Mary followed Lily out of the room stomping as she went.
All of the remaining men just looked at me and shook their heads as they walked out. I followed them back to the reactor room to make sure everyone was there and ready.
"Ok everyone. Keep an eye on the proximity radar. I'm waiting for other ships to jump in before I engage the EMP. When the screen goes black it means that I fired the EMP, if you are still conscious after that it means that you survived and I'll get to see you all again. If not...It has been my greatest honor to serve as your Captain all these years."
Giving them all a crisp salute I then returned to the stasis chamber to prepare for detonation. It wasn't a long wait.
Twenty minutes later another ship appeared on the screen. Pulling up an external camera I took a look at what kind it was and smiled to myself.
'An Akvari Galactic Carrier, with two light cruisers and a battleship on it's docking mounts. I'm glad I waited.'
Setting the EMP on a five minute delay I got into the pod and engaged stasis. As my mind grew hazy and my eyes closed one thought crossed my mind. 'Will anyone receive the distress beacon signal?'
** End of lead up. Enter main character. **
As my eyes slowly opened I inhaled deeply and smiled at the heavy sent of sex still lingering in the air from the events of the night before. Slowly and carefully extracting myself from the limbs of the women still asleep on either side of me I got up and pulled the sheets back up to cover them.
Looking down I smiled at the three women in my bed each one just as beautiful as the next. Anna from the Gray Fox-eared race, Iris the High Elf, and Megan the Human. My eyes drifted lower and my smile grew even wider as I gazed at their bellies under the covers, all three were at different stages of pregnancy but they were all far enough along to show.
Going to the bathroom I took a brief shower and wrapped a towel around my waist as I looked at myself in the mirror. Tracing a finger around the scar on my chest where my heart is I was confused. 'When did I get this?' Looking at my face something else was off as well, I looked older than I was. Leaning closer to the mirror I stared at myself. Until I heard a faint mechanical voice.
"Captain you are needed on the bridge."
"Okay Oracle I'll be there soon."
The voice came again a little louder this time.
"Captain there is a matter that requires your attention on the bridge."
"Yes Oracle. I already said I'd be there soon."
The voice sounded once again. Deafening this time.
"CAPTAIN! WAKE! UP!"
My eyes snapped open and I sat bolt upright in bed.
THUNK
"SHIT! FUCK! DAMMIT!"
Or I tried to sit upright. Instead I slammed my forehead into the ceiling of my small sleeping compartment. Laying back down I rubbed my head with one hand as my other traced the new dent I had put in the metal of my sleeping compartment.
"Dammit Oracle. Did you have to wake me like that?"
"My apologies Captain. I have been calling you for eight minutes and thirteen seconds."
"Yeah, yeah. Turn on artificial gravity and open my sleep compartment."
"Yes Captain."
My body that had been floating settled gently onto the bed as the side slid up and my bed extended from the wall. Removing the straps that kept me from bouncing around while sleeping I got to my feet and the bed retracted into the wall.
Yawning loudly I took the ten steps to the pilots couch and glanced at the radar. No ships, no obstacles, just empty space. What was the emergency.
"What was so urgent you had to wake me from a good dream?"
"Was it one of those dreams Captain?"
"Yeah it was. Now why did you wake me?"
"That explains a lot. You always sleep so deeply when you have those dreams. As for why I woke you."
An alert popped up on my display.
"We have picked up a distress signal from a High Elf ship."
"Well fuck. There goes my flight plan."
"We could ignore it Captain."
"Why we could, but think of the penalties, after all, my logs are always checked at the checkpoints. I would be jailed for a few months, you would be impounded, not to mention the fines for me and the docking fees for you. By law, as a member of the Celestial Kingdom I have to offer aid."
Leaning back I covered my face with my hand and slowly pulled down while letting out a sigh.
"How far away is it?"
"The signal has signs of distortion I would say it is at least nine light days old."
"What can you see from here? I know it will be mostly guess work but you should be able to see something right?"
"Yes Captain. A magnified view shows three large objects, most likely ships, drifting powerless."
Rubbing my chin I spoke.
"It could be a trap like last time. A fake signal to attract ships into range."
Thinking quickly I asked Oracle a question.
"Any idea how long ago this happened?"
"Rough calculations show a 70% chance of 11 days ago, a 89% chance of 12 days ago and a 15% chance of 13 days ago."
"Alright. Calculate a jump to take us 13 days from the origin of the distress signal. Engage when ready. We'll watch for ourselves what happened before moving in to offer aid if this isn't a trap."
Fifteen minutes later Oracle's voice came from the ship speaker.
"Engaging jump in 5...4...3...2...1...jump engaged."
Looking at the exterior camera display I was once again reminded that all space is almost identical and it's huge. Without proper star charts and a ship capable of jumping you could be lost forever.
"I'm going to get cleaned up and have something to eat."
After cleaning up and eating I began going over my dream. For the last six months I had been having similar dreams; always the same three women, always the same ship, and always a little hazy. But this time the dream was crystal clear and I remembered everything, I finally knew their names. I must have had a smile on my face because Oracle asked me a question.
"Why are you in such a good mood Captain? Thinking about something nice?"
"Yes. I finally know their names."
"Their names? The women in your dreams?"
"Yeah."
The next thought turned my joy into a bit of sadness.
"What's wrong Captain?"
"All three of them were pregnant in this one."
"Shouldn't that be cause for happiness? Why do you look sad?"
"Isn't it obvious? I have no idea what these dreams are. Are they real? My imagination? Memories from a past life? Visions of the future? Visions of a future life? I don't know anything and that kills me."
I put my head in my hands and gripped my hair.
"If they are memories of a past life I will never see these women, that I have come to love, again. If they are visions of the future how long do I have to suffer being unable to hold them in my arms? If they are figments of my imagination why am I being tortured like this by my own mind? I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!"
Oracle must have realized that I needed time to collect myself as she didn't respond.
Three hours later I was still clutching my head when Oracle informed me of detecting a flash of light from a jump, signaling the start of the show. Watching events unfold I was impressed. One High Elf light cruiser against 3 Lizardman light cruisers and a dozen frigates.
The High Elf light cruiser was fast and agile with deadly accuracy while the Lizardman ships flew like a wounded duck. It was picking off frigates one after the other while evading attacks from the other light cruisers. The High Elfs were obvious the best of the best and lead by a skilled Captain. As I watched I got a bad feeling and my ear started itching, always a bad sign. Over the years I had learned to listen to my instincts and they were telling me that I was about to get mixed up in some real trouble.
Continuing to watch a Lizardman ship got in a lucky hit with a missile and the High Elf light cruiser's movements slowed drastically, but they weren't giving up. Missiles were fired rapidly and two of the three Lizardman ships exploded. The third survived and was raining plasma beams down on the High Elf ship. They must want to take prisoners because none of the shots were aimed at the critical sections of the ship. Docking bays, plasma cannons, and missile turrets were destroyed one after another until the High Elf ship was defenseless.
The fight was over but something was off. The view from nine light days out showed 3 ships but right now there were only two. About an hour later I was about to get up when there was a flash on the screen. Another ship had just jumped in. Neither ship did anything and a few minutes later a blue flash of light covered the screen and it went blank.
At the same time as the blue flash of light appeared on the screen a blinding pain filled my head. It felt like my entire brain was being electrocuted. I hadn't felt pain like this in years. It felt like hours had passed but it had only been a few minutes when the pain subsided and I was able to catch my breath. My hand involuntarily went to my neck to feel the scars there but I pushed those bad memories from my past away.
"Oracle what was that?"
I gasped out a question and didn't receive a reply. That wasn't like Oracle.
"Oracle what's wrong? Are you Okay?"
"Zzrt stand zzt by zzrt"
Sounds came from the speaker but I couldn't make them out. Whatever that blue flash of light was it wasn't good for me or my ship. Ten minutes later Oracle's voice came from the speaker, and the display turned back on.
"I am Okay now Captain. I have run a full diagnostic on all ship systems and have found no damage."
"Thank you. What was that?"
"Unknown. Most likely some new type of EMP weapon."
"Wait wait wait. Are you telling me that an EMP wave was strong enough to affect us THIRTEEN LIGHT DAYS AWAY? That should be impossible."
"Yes Captain. The technology to create such a weapon is far beyond anything else on the open market. If we had been any closer we would probably both be dead."
Staring at the three drifting ships on the screen I smiled.
"That is a very repulsive smile Captain."
"Sorry. I was just looking at all that money."
"Money? There is no money on the screen just ship debris."
"Exactly. Money just floating around. You know what I mean."
"Salvage rights."
"Yes. Calculate a jump to bring us two light hours away from the battle space debris field."
A few minutes later we jumped. Plotting a course to bring us in I sat back and looked at the updated display. It wasn't three ships. It was six. And as I recognized one of those ships I was instantly filled with rage. Not from anything that had happened to me myself but an instinctive rage from deep inside.
"An Akvari ship!"