Before it could really sink in what was happening, the figure opened fire, the robotic voice issuing from his helmet roaring with rage. The Commander was lithe, quick, dodging the blasts, ducking and rolling, her breast bouncing with the effort to avoid getting cut in half. The shots drilled into the wall, the floor, the ceiling, access panels popping and exploding. The Commander had made her dodging, leaping way to the figure and lashed out with a long leg to catch him in the armored helmet. The next shot took her in the abdomen, flinging her backwards as a good deal of her torso disintegrated. But she'd done what she aimed to do, distracting him long enough that Mai and Rama could reach him. Mai threw her body at his armored legs, buckling them at the knees, while Rama screamed "Nooo!" and latched onto his firing arm before he could shoot the Commander again. They struggled for a moment, the shots going wild into the ceiling, as the figure tottered with Mai trying to lever his legs out from under him. A split second later, at least five other female crewmembers hit him. Mai looked up in surprise; at least one of the wild shots must have blown out the control panel for the force field. The figure toppled backwards, immobilized by the screaming women. Mai barely rolled out of the way to avoid being crushed under the heavy battle armor. She came to her feet in time to see one crewmember yank the pirate's cock upright and then sink her teeth into the base, grinding and gnashing as bright blood sprayed across the writhing bodies. The mechanical scream went on and on as she continued to bite off his enormous tool while the other women hysterically pounded at him, looking for any other way inside his armor.
Mai, nauseated, looked to her captain. She remained standing where she had been left, vacuously staring into the distance. Mai crossed to her other superior officer. Commander Thomas was breathing quickly in shallow gasps; Mai was astonished that she was still alive. "En...Ensign..." The color was draining rapidly from the Commander's already alabaster skin; she looked white as new-fallen snow, lying there in a pool of her own blood.
"Shhh." Mai urged, "Take it easy, Commander.."
The Commander shook her head in irritation. "Captain...gone...you're officer...in charge...now..." Mai gaped at her, astonished. Deidre marshalled her strength for one last effort, pulled herself up to look into Mai's eyes. "Take our people home!" Her fingers slackened, her jaw sagged, and the light went out of her eyes. Mai slid the dead body slowly to the deck. Behind her, she heard one of the women yell in triumph as a chest panel popped open, and then a muffled report as Rama took the disruptor and discharged it repeatedly into the cavity. The mechanical scream cut off at last.
"Attention, crew!" Mai was surprised to hear herself bark. The women still filing out of the detention cell joined the ranks of the women who had torn the slaver apart, all coming to a rough semblance of attention. "As our senior officers are out of commission, I am assuming command. While we are out of immediate danger, we are not safe, not by a long shot. We do not know what happened to the Constellation or the rest of its crew. We don't know where we are, or what the numbers or capabilities of our captors are, or even what is on the other side of that hatch." She pointed at the armored door at the other end of the bay. "We must get information so that we can act. But first we must also take stock of our resources and abilities. If you have any to add, please speak up now."
Mai looked at the scared but determined group of women, gauging which would fight and which would fold under further pressure. What were their resources? There were 60-odd non-coms, maybe 15 ensigns like herself, a couple of lieutenants looking daggers at her and a few other officers. 80 women, all of them attractive, one disruptor, and a severed green dick. She sighed. This wasn't going to be easy, or safe. |