pirate

You really would like me to start at the beginning? Well, I suppose I could try.

I was one of the fortunate few to be born on the home planet, and perhaps it is because of this that I hold the attitudes that I do today. It really wasn't much less lawless and cutthroat as the space stations and colonies my kind own, but it was a solid rock nonetheless. Maybe the vulkrimi who remained felt a bit more compelled to take care of their home planet through some vestigial patriotism, but the truth was the testosterone flowed. Even the most peaceful places became rowdy before too long.

Nevertheless, career paths were clear even from a young age. Oh, certainly, there was room for scientists and doctors and other such honorable positions. But every one of us knew where the real success lie: Piracy. Those other jobs may have had the safety and the credits, but the glory, oh the *glory* of wandering the stars and the thrill of successful hunts was more than enough to capture any boy's heart. The rest of the universe seemed to agree. Pirates or not, vulkrimi were ostracized. May as well make it honest.

I started at the very bottom, as every new recruit does. But for whatever reason, I always seemed to have a knack for keeping control that my brothers often didn't. While they rushed headlong into danger in some foolhardy attempt to prove their courage, I could be patient and calculating. It took some time for this mindset to pay off, but it eventually did. Usually over the bodies of my reckless comrades.

Before long, I was the last man standing, and a ship was mine for the taking. At last, I was a full captain of the ship Venus, named for an ancient Terran goddess of love and beauty, somewhat in honor of the fallen queens of old from the home planet whose monuments I still remember to this day. It also helped that the planet of the same name was much like my own home, albeit taken to extremes.

It was every bit as wonderful as I knew it would be. I was the hero of my childhood stories now, and a few gene mods later I'd perfected the image. The very image of the dashing, tempting Terran devil, dressed to perfection and raiding in the utmost style. I even modded in the hair and beard to match.

But, like most pirates outside of the Void, I dealt primarily in thieving cargo. I was more than aware that "indentured servants" could be found in the back alleys of any spaceport, but at the time, it just wasn't my problem. I would have my fun with them, pay them duley, and be on my way.

Things changed when my crew became involved with an extended mission, a massive raid on a series of UGC storage facilities that involved us staying around a certain backwater spaceport for quite some time. For a while, as far as I was concerned, the prostitutes there were like any other. But one girl... one young kaithrit girl became very attached to us. The moment her keepers looked away she was tailing us, watching curiously with those striking blue eyes.

My crew really wasn't such a bad bunch, for pirates. Though of course they'd have their way with the girls, once they'd exhausted themselves they seemed quite willing to give the poor dears some genuine interaction. But even then... the kaithrit always seemed to get right in the middle of the action, and she had eyes for me in particular. I'd never met a spaceport girl so... enthused to have sex with anyone, but this young lady barely ever left my side. Even after we'd finished, she insisted on staying, would lay there for hours asking me questions with wide eyes and perked ears.

I felt awful for her. And I suppose it's with her that I started looking at these girls, all of them, in a new light.

As time went on and we were nearing the end of the raids... I noticed her belly growing. She was pregnant.

I could have left right there. It would have been easy to just walk away from the situation. But perhaps I'd gotten soft. I just couldn't do it. Not after the poor thing had poured her heart out to me night after night, all but begging me to take her away.

So, with a portion of the earnings, I purchased her contract and freed her from slavery.

It wasn't exactly a popular decision, at least not at first, but the boys calmed down once they had a nice dose of estrogen on the ship to even them out. It was a gamble. For all my pity, if the girl proved herself to be a liability, then I don't know if I would have been able to keep her. And yes, she was quiet and docile at first, likely due to her ever-growing pregnancy. But once our son was born... she changed rather drastically.

She begged me to teach her how to fight. I would catch her constantly fondling the weaponry, running her hands over the biggest and highest caliber guns she could find. I was hesitant, and she was shown no preferential treatment, but it wasn't long before she proved herself more than able to handle the demands of being a pirate. She was far faster on the draw than anyone else on the ship, and while her stamina left something to be desired, her raw speed and agility made her nearly untouchable.

And this, my friend, was when our relationship changed. She was no longer a little girl that I felt obligated to protect. She was a fierce, dangerous, ambitious woman. My equal, and more. I consider this the moment that I truly fell in love.

My beautiful, deadly Morning Star.

For some time, she was my second-in-command. She loved giving orders so much that sometimes I was afraid she would try to usurp me. Not that I would have minded. Her upbringing had made her harder than myself, more willing to take risks for bigger rewards. She had a particular love of raiding UGC ships. Can't imagine why.

She wouldn't have to wait long for her promotion. It started during an assault on a UGC-sponsored mining vehicle. We had heard that a massive deposit of platinum-190 was being transported, and a prize like that would keep us afloat for years. We docked quietly, and tried to sneak aboard.

Of course we should have known it wouldn't be that easy. One thing lead to another, and I took a blow to the chest from a power suit. Now, my kind do not usually show external scars, but the attack was bad enough to tear up most of the organs underneath. I suffered nearly catastrophic organ damage, and if we hadn't recently pilfered a number of microsurgeons during another raid, I may not be alive today.

But, even though I survived, it was enough to give me a change of mind. I was getting up in years. Not elderly, mind you, but not quite the spry young thing I'd once been. And there was no better person to hand the torch to than my beloved Alice.

Ever since, she has run the Venus like a dream.

And here I am, seven children later, exactly where I'd always wanted to be. What a wonderful, charmed life I live, and I owe it all to the girl that I gave a chance.