"Aaagh hell" cursed the wretched figure as he pulled a sizable chunk of polymer cable housing from his one remaining human leg. Blood began pumping from a ruptured artery and leaking into the cockpit of the battered Raven Talon. Coolant and plasma was venting from behind the port engine coolant system. Little could be salvaged from this ship and the last remaining remnants of his guns floated past. Gentle looked out of the viewscreen and noted that he was drifting into the minefield near norfolk shipyard. Blood was leaking from him at an incredible rate and death at the hands of the minefield was looming like a grim reaper with a grudge. his short range scanner showed the approach of the LSF gunboat - Antiquity. The gunboat was in no hurry and no doubt was enjoying the plight of the pirate that had plagued them for so long. Flicking the coms open Gentle felt the need to leave a message "you filthy rat pig scum sucking law lover.....aaaagh.....so what are you looking at......ill tell you now you had better kill me before I come over there and bite your face off" Working on his leaking leg Gentle could feel energy draining from his body as oxygen became a valued commodity to his brain. gentle worked quickly applying a MediBot pack and noted the gunboat had picked up speed, no doubt his insults had spurred the captain to finish him and claim the glory and bounty. 12k and closing, 5k to minefield and about 2 minutes before exhaustion takes me out.
Reaching for a bottle of whisky Gentle salved his conscience and pulled deeply from the bottle. Gentles fall from the highest eschelons of pirate society had been phenomenal. Once held as an elder of the corsairs his diplomatic skills as usual had failed him in dramatic style. His decision to take his old clan the Omega Pirates Guild down a path of no return had led most of them to their death and meant his permanent exile from corsair society had become complete. Gentle held no regret. Gentle had always believed in a higher purpose for piracy, pirates should be brothers through thick and thin regardless of the crap that surrounded their fragmented histories. In an attempt to gain friendship with several pirate factions and unite pirates from across siruis he had succeded in alienating himself and the OPG from all of the major factions. Slowly and inexorably his decisions had draw the OPG down to hell.
Woken from his reverie by a rocking shot to the hull of his stricken fighter Gentle initiated a death or glory move. Overloading his nuclear mine dropper the only remaining fuctioning weapon on his ship he unleashed all 24 mines toward the incoming gunboat. Disguised as scrap metal the flotsam propelled toward the gunboat.
"get some of that you bastards" Screamed gentle.
"Your ship will be destroyed and Ill be taking you aboard shortly Gentle" bragged the idiotic gunboat captain.
Gentle timed the roll on his ship and jettisoned toward the gap in the minefield. At last count the gunboat was 3.5k out and closing fast. would the tractor beam collect him before the mines he had released did their work? A light as bright as a sun erupted from the jetisoned mines and the chain reaction of nuclear mines exploded on the prow of the liberty gunboat. Guess not. The bloodflow in his leg had staunched and his circulation was returning. "Lets see if I cant ride the shockwave out of here". bracing himself Gentle prepared for the worst and hoped his life pod would survive long enough for someone to collect him.
Gentle watched with satisfaction as the gunboat broke in half and the front end floated into the vast minefield. Then the shockwave came.
"Rot in hell gentle" came the final transmission from the gunboat captain.
"I already am you demented fool"
The concussion knocked the last out of gentle and he passed into velvet darkness.
.....Beep.......Beep.....Beep........."Wake up lad" a familiar voice piped.
"come on your not dead yet and your not likely to be for a while If I know you at all"
Opening his eyes gentle recongised the medical room of the [OTC]Zeus. having spent many days in this very room as a youth when his combat experience was short lived he had many implants and replacemnets done by the man he had come to think of as a father. "Zeus....how did you find me"
"Dont worry lad you know us smugglers have eyes in liberty, I was delivering some artifacts to manhattan and you cleared a nice path for me with that mine trick there lad. Corsairs arent too forgiving when you lose cargo. Anyway arent you going to thank me for your gift?"
Bemused the pirate sat up, shocked to see he was now a proud owned of a second cybernetic leg. "Oh man you have to be kidding.... Where is my leg I though I had saved it?"
"Not really, you stopped the blood. Anyway you pod was almost ripped apart by the shockwave. So i tractored you in and cut off your old leg. its floating in space with the wreckage from your ship and pod. I heard an LSF transmission saying they thought your ship and you were completely destroyed. Your a lucky man. You dont exist"
"Whats this?" wondered gentle as he explored the electronic gadgetry of his new leg. "its a sidearm compartment lad" informed Zeus. "The amount of trouble you get into I figured it would be handy"
The Omega trading Corporation had been the financial mainstay of the OPG for many years. gentle was honoured that the OTC had survived the fallout from Gentles political machinations. gentle vowed to give back the honour he had been shown by his old friend Zeus.
One day. Ill bring the OPG back to life. One day we will rise like phoenix from the ashes of our fallen brothers. Until that day my guns will aid my smuggling friends once more.
Slipping back into sleep induced by the drugs of the medical facility and experiencing a new lust for life gentle smiled for the first time in many years.
"Who do you think you are you theiving bastard, Im not paying that for a second hand salamanca!"
Davy Spallon the Equipment dealer on Yanagi sat upand held a rag to his nose. Davy was no fool and Gentle had overstepped the mark again. Davy pressed his emergency key fob alerting his security team to a possible threat.
"Gentle you moron, who do YOU think you are coming into my establishment and demanding prices that even my brother wouldnt get. Ill have your guts for garters by the end of this day"
Davy pulled himself to his feet and stood to face the pirate. Gentle popped his cyber leg and stuck the disruptor pistol into Davy's nose.
"Davy my old mate, cancel your security alert now or ill spread your head across the back shelf and take your wife off for a new life on crete my old son"
Fury fired from Davy's eyes as he heard the security team scrabbling down the corridoor.
"your time is running out Davy, be quick".
Davy turned and accessed his security terminal cancelling the alert.
"Gentle you havent changed a bit. Ill speak plainly, your presence here is damaging for business. I cant think of a single person in this station that wouldnt swing you by the neck and most of those are your distant relatives."
A wide grin spread across Gentles face.
"Yes im a real dissapointment to my mother. Tell me though what do you really expect from a bastard son of a whore. Ive never claimed to be a sweet little angel and you know me well enough to know I like to get my own way. Now I wouldnt be asking for prices like those If I hadnt been the one to pop those 2 rheinlanders who chased down your incoming cardamine delivery. And I know how much you like your cardamine Davy."
Gentle put the gun into his cybernetic leg. He liked this junker a lot, he was just the kind of ballsy scumbag that Gentle could call friend. Despite his talk he was unsure if he could hurt Davy more that a bloody nose. But times had changed a lot. Gentles exploits had made him enemies on both sides of the law and his welcome was usually acompanied with a gun in the back and orders to leave even the most hardened pirate bases. His decision to fly solo had increased his reputation and the bounties on his head. His poorly armed and recently aquired Raven Talon sat in dock in the Junker base awaiting a few more guns for it to be usable. His last Talon had been like a good friend and its loss was a real hurt to Gentle who was often closer to his ship that he was to his familia.
"Heres how its going to work amigo." Set me up with the guns I require and Ill make sure rheinland has something else to focus on for a few weeks other than your incoming transports. You know ill take care of you. I know im a scurvy bastard whos a problem for ya but do me this favour and ill plague rheinland enough to make them take notice of me and not your little hobby imports for a week or two. Im certain you can do a lot of business in that time Davy"
Davy alowed a slight smile to escape from his face. He had never met anyone quite like Gentle. His idea of diplomacy was a gun in the face and a bottle of whisky in the hand.
"No whisky today?" asked Davy
"Lost the lot in liberty when they blew my leg off" replied the pirate with a touch of regret in his voice.
Davy jacked his neural plug into the sales terminal and ordered a shipment of guns to be equipped to the Raven Talon in dock 1. And feeling a touch of sadness for this friendless pirate he sat a bottle of whisky on the counter.
"Take this and get out of my shop you idiot, your guns will be fitted in 10 minutes. id suggest you dont come back for a while."
"Hey man.... thanks. Really. Thankyou. I wont forget this Davy" replied the pirate with a touch of emotion.
Nothing moved Gentle to emotion like a good bottle of whisky. Time to leave, time to kill and whisky to help the day along. Life was getting more interesting by the minute.
The dirt felt cool on his skin. Gutters were an often underrated place. Rain soaked one side of his face and the grime and filth slid down the other. Gentle dimly became aware of footsteps approaching but his stupor in whisky did not allow him so much as to lift his head to find out where he was. 'haha let them try to mug me Ill explode one of those legs before I let them take my whisky' The drunken pirate lord drawled.
A boot met his face with the force required to break his nose... again.
"So this is it. You drink yourself into a ditch every night. Your a pathetic excuse for a leader Gentle", a half familiar voice sounded.
He felt his body being hauled upward and one of his legs fell off. The newest one wasn't quite right yet. "By the filth ridden beard of the ugliest outcast wench Ive heard of legless pirates but you take the piss Gent"
Gentle looked down at the hand supporting his chest and saw a tattoo and brand mark. The mark of the OPG was tattooed deep into the flesh of this man but the old brand mark behind it could signify only one thing. One of the OPG scourges. Gentle had made branding compulsory for the highest ranked members of the OPG but only a few ever received such a scar. The voice became a memory. The memory became a face.
"Migrond Aramath....... Mig is it really you..." The pirates senses failed as the last bottle of Sirius 60% took its toll.
Oh dear thought Gentle as his eyes opened. The highly perfumed smell and comfortable bed did not herald well for the pirate. A lot of time had passed since he had been to his home on Crete. Gentle sat up pand bleary eyed searched for a bottle of whisky only to be met with a pitcher of water. Water! A commodity that was a luxury here on Crete. Gentle looked into the pitcher with disgust. puuring some of the liquid on his head he decided to attempt a freshen up. Gentle lept from the bed too late noticing the two legs propped up in the corner. The resulting thud stunned Gentle as he landed squarely on his pirates jewels.
"Oh by the beardy nose of the outcasts......OOOOOOO."
Gentle rolled for a few minutes. He became a ware of the unnerving silence and shocked himself back to sense. He rolled onto his back and looked straight into the face of hell. "You miserable excuse for a lame dog"
The first 7 of his 16 wives stood in a semi circle of hate.
"Oh no..... not today...... dont tell me Mig.... you brought me back to the wives"
That son of a dock rat Mig had almost as much evil in him as Gentle and his sense of humour was something that had been forged over many years of pirating in space with the drunken pirate lord.
"Well dont just stand there glaring at me like a naughty puppy get me my goddam legs you brainless wenches!"
Gentle was forced to crawl under the bed as the resulting barrage of kicks flew in.
Exhaustion was creeping in. His 13th wife Esmerelda had just departed the bedroom where she had resumed the confirmation of her conjugal rights. Gentle was felling a lot older and a lot happier for a little while. 4 more to go he grimaced.
Looking out of the window at the Large Housing facility opposite Gentle had a rare moment of sentimentality as he stood watching a number of children beating one of their peers with a stick. It reminded Gentle of his youth, beatings had made him hard as iron, they had closed off a part of his emotions that would never recover. He was Glad. The youths finished their vicious assault and the ring leader walker off cock sure he had finished the job to the crowds satisfaction. Gentles 14th wife Lucielle gently held his hand. "Senor Gentle, that is one of your sons."
The beaten boy picked himself up from the floor and his fists clenched. A rage seemed to pass across his beaten face and blood ran across his eyes. Gentle watched the boy begin his charge and barely made out the scream of defiance as he careened into the older youth like a Pirate transport into a moon. A fury of fists and head butts ensued and the older youth found himself pinned underneath a raging bull. The fight ended abruptly with one of the hostels orderlies lifting the young boy from the now unconscious limp frame of the bully.
"Hmm. A chip off the old block. What is his name Lucielle?"
"Ee is called Sparta. I gave him life into this world 7 years ago. You have missed much Gentle and so have I. Eet is my time no? Come to bed you have more sons to raise yet."
An unusual feeling welled up within the pirate. Was this pride? Not the sense of ersonal pride he took from releiving a bounty hunter of his head but something different. Gentle fell to the bed to resume his duties.
The Gentle I once new many light years ago was once a Pirate Grand Overlord of an infamous band of cut throats named OPG.
I was a fledgling just out of flight school trying to make my way in life trading in the border worlds which if Im honest my late father said would come to no good, how right he was.
As I undocked from Malta in the Omicrons I was surrounded by ships from the OPG and after being toyed with it seemed my untimely death was inevitable but I somehow ran and ran and made my escape, Gentle saw something in me which aroused his curiosity and I was given a choice either to die or become a pirate, I chose the latter.
The Gentle I knew could take on a fully armed Eagle in a Drom freighter and win.
If this is you then I salute you, my General
Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends
[PRF]-Tarkus
[PRF]-Artemis
StormBringer
Tarkus
The chains on the boys feet and arms were tight, almost so tight the circulation would slow. This wasnt the first time his temper had got him into trouble. Sparta's wiry frame twisted and turned in an attempt to find a weakness in the chains, a small purchase or slackness to wriggle free. The last time he had lost his temper like that was a year ago at his sixth bithday party. That punk Pedro had taken his new shoes and cut the toes out of the left foot. Sparta had marked him for life with the scissors that had been used to destroy his shoes. His mother Lucielle had said the shoes were from his father, a man named Gentle. Sparta strained so hard he could feel his wrist beginning to burn. The chain slipped freeing his left hand. Within minutes the resourcefull youth had gathered escaped the confinement bed and had possitioned himself above the doorway to the room, chains in hand. he pressed himself sideways and hung like a cretian death spider ready to pounce. Sparta made the decision to leave this hostel. He needed no combat training from these fools, he had a father. Sparta slammed a chain against the door and retreived it before the guard came to see what the noise was about. Soon he heard a commotion as they realised he had escaped the chains and the door burst open. Loelian the guard tentatively stepped into the room and looked behing the door, oblivious to the youth suspended above him. The chains hit with the force of a cannonball missilse and the ordely hit the ground unconscious. 'Ill take those passcards, your credit tokens and this.... oh nice.. a foldaway neutron stunner' gloated the youth.
An hour later the boy slipped into the hold of the Ravenclaw seconds before the engines began the startup sequence. The time had come for the boy to meet his fate. His destiny wasnt that of the other youths, he was to be something else. Not a minion of the cretian government. Not a castoff. By god he would make his father stand up and recogninse him as his son. He would make him proud and one day he would stand side by side with him in war.
The hold closed behind him and the airlock engaged. Sparta felt the ship powering up for takeoff and found himself a comfortable spot between 2 crates labelled 'Sirius60'. Curiosity burned and the boy opened a crate to find it full of bottles of some kind of liquid.
Inside the cockpit of the ravenclaw Gentle noticed a temperature anomaly in the cargo hold.
Pistol blaster in hand Gentle approached the crates.......
The boy sparta sat peeling back synth foil from the bottle. He had heard of whisky but had never before seen it. The hostel his father had paid to build that housed all of his 'Wives' and numerous children had been completely devoid of any form of narcotic or alchohol. Gentles first wife had taken care of that as a priority after Gentle had burned down their first house while in a stupour of alcohol and synth weed. The hostle had become a home for many waifs and strays over the years and many orphaned children had found themselves adopted into Gentles familia. Sparta had heard the tales that his father had funded this endeavour through his space exploits. Sparta wondered what it was like to terrify traders into releasing credits and cargo or to run a cargo hold full of artifacts right under the noses of the Police authorities. His decision to stow away aboard his fathers fighter had been made in a fit of anger but now he realised that once his father was in space he would have no option other than to take him along and teach him the ways of a corsair pirate. Sparta popped the cork from the bottle and took a long smell of the liquor within.
"Your a little young to be taxing an old man of his whisky boy" gentles voice startled the youth who droped the bottle in surprise. he looked up and saw the business end of a blaster pistol aimed at his face. Slowly the blaster lowered and the boy saw the weathered and scarred face behind the voice.
"So..... you decided to pay a visit to your father boy. Long overdue and in fairness its more my responsibility your fulfilling than your own. but the hold of my fighter isnt the best place for you boy. Come .. stand up and stop quaking like a Crimson Deathspine on its honeymoon" the pirate offered a hand to the boy. Spart took the hand and the calloused and gnarled hand pulled the boy to his feet.
"I am Sparta... I am your son" the boisterous youth sparked.
"I bloody well know who you are boy. I saw your explouts back at Crete. You gave that boy a serious kicking lad. I hear he is still in hospital. What do you have to say about that"
The boy shrugged and looked around. "Nothing Gentle... Im glad I did it"
"Hmm.... good lad. I dont ever want to see anyone beat on you like that again. If they do at least I know you can hold your own lad. Im not annoyed at you at all. You made me proud. Sparta... you are my son and I havent been much of a father so why did you come here?"
"I want to be a pirate gentle. I hear tales about you in the dormitory and many of the boys not of our familia mock me and say its all made up propoganda and that your just a drunken fool who meddles in the afffairs of real corsairs"
"HAHAHAHA thats true. Im drunk and I meddle boy. Im no fool though. Well im heading to Cadiz base to take care of some affairs. get on that comms and advise your mother Im taking you on a trip. if she gives you any ball ache lad tell her that at your age I had my first confirmed Outcast kill."
"No way at 7?" the boy looked at gentle with incredulous eyes.
"Your life although hard has been much different to mine Sparta. your mother knows this and in time maybe ill tell you too but not now. We have business to take care of."
gentle led the boy to the cockpit and strapped him into the emergency co-pilot seat. "if you feel sick during takeoff make sure you dont blow it on the gunnery computer. I dont want the docking ring accidentally mined or torpedoed"
"Engaging engines"
the ship lifted from the landing platform and headed toward the lauch co-ordinates.
The raven talon sped out of the jump hole into Omega 5. A horde 12 strong of hessians pursued the pirate and his son. gentle laughed with joy as he turned into the pursuing fleet and opened fire. The boy Sparta shrieked as the first blasts hit the shields. "Hold tight lad its going to get a little hot in here. Gentle engaged the thrusters and rolled between the first 2 Odins dropping a cluster of mines. Pulling the ship through a full loop he re-engaged the 2 Odins whose shileds had been wiped out by the mine explosions. "Get some of this you rat fat bastards." gentle cursed. A barrage of fire ripped into the shields as Gentle lined up for a sunslayer shot. Firing all guns the first Odin came apart and the pilot ejected just in time to be tractored into the hold of the Raven talon. The Sunslayer loosed from Gentles raven talon and connected in close proximity to the 2 odins without shield. The first vapourised immediately and the second set alight and retreated.
The boy sparta felt fear and wonder. He retched into his hands as the ships shields went down. Multiple shots caressed the hull like a loving hammer.
"Ah crap they have a damn rheinland pirate cruiser" gentle warned the boy.
gentle used up the last of his Nanobots which spread out across the damaged area of hul and immediately began to restructure themselves to plug the holes in the infrastructure and hull. Gentle engaged auto drop on the Countermeasures and hit the cruise control engage. The weapons powered down gentle focused on avoiding the barrage incoming from the remaining 8 fighters and cruiser. After a short time the engines kicked in and gentle heard the Countermeasure dropper working ovetime keeping down the Disruptors coming from the horde behind him.
"Bwah hahaha those fools are never gonna take me down. Dont worry lad its just another day in the life. The cavalry is coming from Cadiz now. Look at the scanner in fron of you what do you see?" Asked the old pirate.
"Are those green blips friends gentle?"
"Yes lad its my hermanos"
*****Incoming transmission********
"Hola Gentle mi amigo this is Tarkus. I am leading a reprisal team out now. How did you fare amigo?" Came the voice of Tarkus one of Gentles most trusted friends and advisors.
"3-0 to OPG so far hermano. Take out that cruiser with your bomber squadron amigo and ill be happy for sure."
"Si amigo I will do it.... I scan 2 people in your ship senor who is that with you, is it some kind of dwarf?" Asked the always curious Tarkus.
"Bwagh hahahah ..... oh my word a dwarf..... That is my son Sparta amigo he is 7 and for a lad of his age no dwarf."
"Oh I see...... you angaged a fleet of hessians with your 7 year old on board hermano? You continue to amaze me. Tarkus out."
Gentle grinned and clapped the lad round the head. "Welcome to the OPG son"
