Ishi’s statement kicked everything into high gear. We had a brief conference via coms where I asked for more information and our mercenary leader was happy to supply me with information even though he sounded decidedly unhappy with the content of said info.

The long and short of it was that we had four civilian type vessels and two frigates coming from the inner system and two civilians, two frigates and one cruiser coming from the outer system. Each one on their own would have been fine for Ishi and his merry band to take on but both together was a no-go.

Even trying to intercept one and then being back for the other was a no-go. He could catch the one from the outer system by itself but the fleet was too tough to take out quickly and considering that they outnumbered the mercs, our side would have losses which would then mean that the inner fleet would curb-stomp us.

Now the inner fleet could also be intercepted but that was an even worse proposition as the cruiser would most certainly adjust as soon as they saw Ishi’s ship burning for the inner system fleet. Which might not be a big problem. But from what I was told, cruisers could come in so many variations that you simply didn’t know what you got yourself into. They could be tech warfare specced in which case it wouldn’t be a huge problem. But they could also come with conventional warfare spec and that would mean they had at least the same bang as Ishi’s own ship. Worst option for us would be a support specced cruiser which would allow the ship for example to reinforce all the vessels around it and even pull them along in a warp bubble. So if the cruiser had a support setup, we might get raided while Ishi dealt with the inner fleet or they might hit the mercs while they were dealing with the inner fleet and then come for us.

What I am trying to say is that there were no good interception options for us. So the other possibility would be reinforcing the mercs but that would be a no-starter because we were pretty much broke after the latest expenses. Plus another merc fleet would take time to get here if they were even available.

We could also get the remaining turrets back out on the rock and hope that they would provide sufficient cover to drive off the RD ships that were incoming. This seemed like a good proposal on paper but it would cost us basically all the time we had and then some. Because we needed to disassemble the laser turrets and drag them beach onto the surface, set them up and then connect them all. We also had to check on the missile turret and see what was going on with it. And to top it all off, our lasers were only civilian rated and the launcher was frigate rated. Which meant even if we pulled it off, we would at most even the odds instead of providing a safe solution.

Then there was once more the idea of using the KKV data to get system security riled up and come to our help but the same concerns as last time stopped me from pulling the trigger on that one. System security needed to get here. Something that would most likely happen after we had been raided. Secondly, I didn’t trust them not to be bought off, at least to some extent. Which meant that even if they would show up in time, I would be hard pressed to trust them enough to help us in any way. Funny enough, even Ishi jumped on Nirazera’s band wagon on that argument. I guess his experiences with various system / local government security fleets wasn’t exactly stellar either.

The final option was the one we were about to implement. Getting Nyx out of that rock. Which meant that for all those ships going for us we would suddenly have a second cruiser in our space for defensive purposes. Considering everything that Ralgau told me with his vast experience in space engagements I was confident that whoever was coming for us would flinch. I mean let’s be honest, it was RD but since we had not confirmed it yet as their transponders were off and since they were burning towards us we could not run a drive signature comparison. Anyway, another cruiser in space would mean that they were outmassed and outgunned. Considering they knew that it was a relic ship would only add to that because everybody knew that relic ships had advanced technology. I mean that was why everybody had such a hardon for them.

Anyway, that was the plan. The problem was that I had pulled up the ship’s status screen. Don’t get me wrong, the ship looked as awesome on paper as it did walking around in it or looking at it from the outside. But…

Ship

Seeker Cruiser Type “Hope”

Name

Nyx

Identification Tag

Nyx

Active Components

3 / 3

OreVac Mk1 Extractor Beam

OreVac Mk1 Extractor Beam

GAMM

Static Components

2 / 3

Navigation Computer Mk2

Medium Fabricator

Internal Components

5 / 5

Transition Drive Core

Transition Drive Sensor Suite

Persona Core

Drone Controller

Linear Drive

Shield

800 / 800

6.8 sec / HP recharge

Armor

300 / 300

Structure

100 / 100

Ship Status - 69%

Life Support

92%

Active Systems

33%

Static Components

50%

Internal Components

60%

Antimatter Reserves

48%

Communications

50%

Shield Generator

100%

Armor

100%

Supplies - 88%

Water

92%

Food

84%

Cargo - 1000/1000

Crew - 1/27 *WARNING - MINIMUM CREW COMPLEMENT NOT MET*

Captain

Malcolm Solo

First Officer

Chief Engineer

Navigation Officer

Tactical Officer

Sensor Officer

Pilot

Yeah, exactly. One, it seemed that the bigger the ships got, the more intense the status screens got. Two, I did not have the required crew on board to even move the ship. Nyx told me that I needed to fill in the positions that were mentioned on the status screen. With that we would have basic operations back. Although that was basic functionality where the AI would compensate. To get it fully going, we needed to have at least 15 people on the crew. And I had no idea where I would even start finding these people. I mean I could always hire NPCs via the bulletin system but the experience with Brelic had taught me a lesson. NPCs have their own agendas and might stab you as quickly in the back as they are to pretend to have your best interests at heart. I thought about leaving this to a cooperation between Nirazera and Nyx and I would only do final signoff on that.

No, the actual in-your-face problem was that Nyx was completely unarmed. As in no offensive weapons whatsoever. Sure, there were two automatic rapid-fire laser anti-missile turrets, or RFLAMs for short, built into the hull. We didn’t see them because they can be retracted and need to be extended before firing. But these things had a five kilometer range and only enough oomph to trigger a missile into blowing up. So nothing that could really be used offensively and expect any results.

As I usually do, I set up a to-do list because that way I can actually keep track of what needs to happen. Otherwise my brain will be all over the place and I get lost in minutiae instead of getting things done.

Get the ship out of the asteroid Find command crew so we can get the ship moving Find rest of the crew at least up to skeleton level Learn more about Nyx, Seekers and the mission Study the courses Nyx will suggest to get skills up Figure out what to do with the claim Figure out how to make money (involve Mrk and Krn)

So, obviously the first two were the most pressing at the moment. But the other ones were just as important. As I was titled captain now, I decided it was in my best interest to act that way. Which is why I decided to delegate. And yeah, I should have already done that after I became CEO but you know… give me some time to adapt. Thing is, I was out of time.

Nirazera got the job of finding crew, Irene got promoted to Navigator and put on the task of learning more about Nyx and the mission. I know she would not have full access but when I had offered her First Officer, she had declined and told me she would rather have the navigator position. Then I put her in charge of filling out the rest of the command crew and asked her to work with our resident Grelic to do that.

Finally I decided to keep working with Ralgau and Ygglog on clearing the passage while Asami Soto with the help of Opisthos would try to come up with solutions on how to accelerate digging our way out of the hunk of space rock we were stuck in. Which is where I ran into the next issue.

“Oh guys, there is another issue that we need to address.”

I heard a round of groans. Apparently having a laundry list of things to do while pirate ships are on the way was already the most people could handle.

“It’s not another task. But it is something that I need to address. When Nyx adjusted my neural link, something got messed up. To fix that, I needed to go into the med pod, right?”

“We know.” Ralgau answered.

“Yes, miss Irene told us.” Opisthos chimed in while the rest stayed attentively silent.

“Well, what Irene didn’t tell you yet is that to fix this, Nyx needed to basically grow new connections in my brain. But then to make that new brain work, changes needed to be made in my body. And now… well…”

Expectant silence filled the coms. And I didn’t know how to get to the point. Why the fuck did I feel awkward?

“See the species that built Nyx was called Seekers. Or that is as far as I know. Anyway in the process of rebuilding… well… me, she used that as a template. And now I am no longer Quirt but instead I became a Seeker myself.”

“So you are looking different?” Nirazera asked. “And here I was starting to get attached to that body of yours.”

I snorted.

“Not that you have actually ever seen it outside of a vac suit.”

“But a girl has fantasy and can make educated guesses.”

“So you are looking different? And you want to make sure nobody shoots you I assume?” Ishi’s voice cut through the banter. I had included him into the round of conversation because I needed to make sure that our mercs were in the know as well.

“Yes. Yes, I do. Quite significantly.”

“Let’s see it then.” Ralgau said.

Instead of running out and showing off, which would have been difficult to do considering we still needed vac suits on the asteroid. And I was still not ready to bring people on the ship yet. So I pulled a picture from the camera view I had of myself in the med bay and sent that out to everybody via coms.

“And how do we know that this is still you?” Ishi asked.

“I assure you, that is Malcolm.” Irene chimed in. “In a way, I want to say that is more Malcolm than he was before.”

“There is certainly more of him now.” Nirazera smacked her lips in what I assumed was appreciation. Maybe it was a bad idea to have sent her that picture. After all, I had come out of the pod nude.

“Can we be sure about that though?”

“Captain Ishi, I assure you. I have known Malcolm for years and that is definitely him.”

“If Irene says so, that is good enough for me. And Ishi, the contract that Stardust MGCD has, is with me.”

“Hm. Fair enough. We should have been down there. On this contract we are bodyguards after all. That means guarding the body. And not let it be changed around by an AI.”

“Captain Ishi, I appreciate you saying that. But I have to be honest, I am not exactly sad about the changes. It is hard to explain, but I do feel somehow more at home in my new body. I have never felt so good in my own skin. Plus the neural link feels a lot more responsive.”

“You are stronger now!”

“Are we getting back to work then?” Ralgau asked.

“Yes, we are. I will be out shortly to set the next set of charges so we can all get out of this rock.”

Grunts and grumbles answered and when the two Greys started badgering me for more information I switched my com from local to private and started walking out of the ship. Wrangling those two was also Irene’s job and I didn’t envy her for it. It was Asami with the help of Opisthos that had gotten me into the ship and I was okay dealing with those two. But the annoying older brother was another matter. He had yet to contribute anything and his high brow behavior started grating a little. But then that is what delegation is about. Letting people work to their strength. And Irene certainly managed to handle all of the geek squad.