"An Akvari ship!"
Looking at the display I was shaking I was so mad. Focusing myself I got control of my emotions. Over a thousand years ago the Akvari had invaded my people's home planet, Earth, and tried to enslave my entire race. We lived in constant fear for years until the High Elves attacked and saved us.
The Akvari and the High Elves has been fighting for as long as anyone can remember. On the side of the High Elves were all but a few of the humanoid races while all of the non-humanoid races fought for the Akvari. After the Akvari were driven out the High Elves welcomed us into their coalition and explained why the Akvari had invaded our world. It was simple and complex at the same time. Breeding stock.
Among all the races from across the galaxy the humans from Earth are unique. We can breed with 90% of the other races out there be they humanoid or not. During the war the Akvari's numbers had dwindled and they needed humans to recover their population. Leaving the main fighting to their client races they attacked Earth hoping for a swift victory but the High Elves took the opportunity to launch attacks deep into Akvari controlled space and forced them back.
Armed with new knowledge and low grade weapons we joined the fight under the direct command of the High Elves. At first we were branded with insulting names like 'the High Elves's human pets' and 'the High Elves's attack dogs'. But as time passed and battles were won we were branded with another title. It was meant to be an insult but we liked it. The Savages.
After a decisive victory on an Akvari controlled world one human was looking at an Akvari corpse and the tentacles on their head reminded him of an octopus. Feeling a bit hungry and also wanting to spite the dead he cut off a few tentacles, fried them up, and ate them.
The other races who had fought beside the humans were horrified but all the humans laughed before joining in on the impromptu barbecue, it quickly spread across the entire battlefield. As messages were passed news spread and the barbecue was soon spread across the entire planet. What was even more horrifying to the other races was that the Earth humans were actually able to digest the Akvari.
The most difficult part of the logistics of galactic warfare was that no two races could eat the same things, but here the humans were eating the flesh of their defeated enemies like savages, and the name stuck. After testing it was discovered that if the Earthlings could breed with a race they could survive off of the same food as that race as well as the flesh of that race.
Thinking of all of this once again, a quote from a famous conquer from my people's history came to mind. Genghis Khan once said, 'The greatest happiness is to vanquish your enemies, to chase them before you, to rob them of their wealth, to see those dear to them bathed in tears, to clasp to your bosom their wives and daughters.' Now another line should be added to the end of that...'and to feast on their flesh.'
Looking at the display again I noticed that only the two ships that engaged in battle were damaged the other four looked undamaged.
"Oracle scan for life signs."
My gut and ear were acting up again and I didn't know why. It wasn't that I felt I was in danger just that I was about to be wrapped up in trouble. Giving each ship a quick once over I froze. 'Oh Shit.' Not good. The High Elf ship was really bad news. If nobody was alive I was getting out of here....fast. Unfortunately Oracle's next words crushed that thought.
"Captain there 29 survivors as well as four active stasis pods aboard the High Elf ship. There are no signs of life from any of the other ships."
"FUCK!"
"Captain what's wrong?"
"What's wrong? WHAT'S WRONG?! Don't you know who's aboard that ship?"
"Captain how could I know the crew logs of a ship I have never encountered before."
I took a moment to get my emotions under control again.
"Oracle. Go through all audio records and listen for rumors about ships belonging to the High Elf royal family."
Every time I walked around a starport or on a spacedock I always had Oracle listening to the people around me and recording what they said. A few seconds passed.
"Over 5,000 rumors have been identified."
"Refine your search to one's about the color of the name on the hull of the ship."
A brief pause.
"118 rumors logged. The rumors state that the ships belonging directly to members of the royal family all have their names written in gold."
"Scan the High Elf ship again and tell me what color the name on its side is."
"It is gold Captain."
"Yeah. There is most likely a member of the royal family on that ship. If they are alive...great. If not...somehow it will be my fault."
"What about the other ships? You said there were no signs of life but do you have any information on the condition of those ships?"
"All reactors are shut down and the plasma from the reactors has been vented already. The EMP attack would have caused major damage to many on board systems and the AIs are most likely destroyed beyond any hope of repair."
Leaning back in my chair I rubbed my chin. My ship was to small to accommodate 33 additional people even if my cargo bay was empty.
"Oracle. If I plugged you into that carrier could you control it?"
"With the information I have on hand and the predicted damage caused by the EMP I have a 70% chance of being able to control enough systems to get it moving."
"Would it help if you had a crew to run the ship so you could focus on managing systems?"
"80%"
I smiled as a plan started to form.
"Try hailing the High Elf survivors. The last thing I need is to get shot while trying to rescue them."
After ten minutes there was still no response.
"Ok. Plan B. Connect to an airlock on the furthest side of the ship from the elves. I need to do some cutting."
Pulling on an armored space suit I entered the ship with a plasma cutting torch in hand. This section of the ship was in vacuum so I wasn't to worried about my surroundings. Getting to work I cut through the side of the ship and carefully detached the entire airlock from the ship. Reentering my ship I had Oracle fly to the area where all of the elves were gathered.
"This section appears to be a cafeteria of some kind Captain."
"Makes sense. Gather where the food is and then they only have to maintain the CO2 concentration in the air for a single compartment. I'm going to exit the ship. When I'm outside and secured to the ship carefully place the airlock against the hull."
Within an hour I had the airlock welded onto the hull.
"Ok Oracle. Over pressurize the airlock for 5 minutes and tell me if there is a leak."
Five minutes later.
"There has been no loss of pressure Captain. No leaks detected."
"Alright detach from the airlock so I can come back in."
Moments later I was back aboard and ready for the next step.
"Banging around out there probably alerted them to my presence. If they were smart they would have put space suits on. Try and patch into their comms."
"You are connected Captain."
"This is Adam Hunt, Captain of the mining ship Oracle here to offer aid. Please respond."
There was nothing for a few minutes and then I got a response.
"This is Lieutenant Marks. Are you really here to help us?"
"Yes Lieutenant. My ship is not big enough to take everyone but I have a plan, but I'll need your help to make it work. May I come aboard?"
"The ship outside of this compartment is in vacuum how are you going to come aboard?"
"You heard all the noise I was making, right? I cut an airlock from a different part of the ship and welded it to the side above you. All I have to do is cut a hole and we will be able to talk face to face."
"Really?"
"Yes. Stand clear and I'll get started."
A few moments later.
"All clear cut away."
Ten minutes later I was floating in a large open cafeteria with 29 rifles pointed in my direction.
"Forgive us for this but we have to protect ourselves and we don't know you."
Lieutenant Marks gave orders for two of the people surrounding me to search my ship while the rest of us floated there waiting. Thankfully it's a small ship and the two crew were back shortly. They must have switched comms channels because I didn't hear anything until the guns were lowered.
"Sorry about that I had to be sure."
"Of course. Especially when there is a member of royalty aboard."
Instantly every gun was pointed at me again.
"How did you know that?"
"Can you lower your weapons first. I'm here to help."
"No. How did you know a member of the royal family is aboard? That information shouldn't be known to a small mining ships captain such as yourself."
Letting out an audible sigh I spoke.
"You all are idiots do you know that?"
Rifle barrels twitched and if these elves weren't as disciplined as they are I would have been shot already.
"There have been rumors floating around for years that all ships belonging directly to members of the royal family have their names written in gold lettering on the hull. One look and you can guess who is on the ship."
Slowly crossing my arms I continued.
"Now can you please stop pointing your guns at me?"
"Lower your weapons everyone. I think we can trust him."
One of the suited figures floated in my direction before removing his helmet. Stretching out a hand I helped slow his momentum so we both started floating towards the wall behind me.
"Contact in 3..2..1..now."
When he said 'Now' I engaged the gecko like grips on the feet, hips, and shoulders of my suit to hold me in place. Now that I was secure I reached up and removed my helmet as well and nodded at the man.
"Lieutenant Marks."
"Ship Captain Hunt."
I laughed and held my hand out to him.
"Please. Call me Adam."
He looked at my hand confused.
"First time meeting a human?"
He nodded.
"All good. Hold out your hand like I am."
He did as I said and I gripped it and shook it briefly before letting go.
"It's called a hand shake, it's a basic human greeting and also used as a sign of good faith when striking a deal."
"Understood. You said you had a plan to get us all out of here. How can we help?"
I smiled.
"Well Lieutenant. Have any of you ever piloted an Akvari carrier before?"
There was stunned silence as they processed the words I just spoke.