SMT Snippet 1

Sitrep:
  As usual I've been remiss about posting snippets once I send a manuscript to Rea. I have an excuse, I didn't take much time off and instead dived right into The New Federation Book 7, Blockade.
   I 'officially' started it on the 22nd. Anyway, I finished act I last Friday and sent it off to the first Beta. I'm 200+ pages into it and already at the half way point but facing a brown out.

Anyway, here is the first snippet:

Chapter 1

 

Tortuga

 

Jericho grinned as he finished his report. He looked over to security. The chief had ordered the lab to be secured; there would be no looting or pillaging. That was a pity but it was smart, there was no telling what was dangerous in the lab. They'd gotten off lucky without hitting something bad. He didn't want for them to press their luck with the lady.

Besides, he'd gotten enough pleasure out of being in on personally killing the bitch. Ripping her apart had been quite a pleasure though he had been reprimanded for not bringing her to the lords. Too bad. Even rank and file betas and gammas like his kind deserved some payback from time to time.

He licked some of the blood off of his muzzle. Her blood of course, sticky from its time on his fur. He'd need to get a thorough cleaning before he visited Val and the cubs when he was off duty.

He snuffled and then sneezed. He felt his chest tickle with the desire to cough but he repressed it.

He must have gotten some of her blood up his nose or something. He shook his head. Whatever the reason, best to get cleaned up before his shift ended.

<()>^<()>

Black Death 

Admiral Leonidas Ishmael rubbed his brow tiredly as he considered the future. He'd survived the pirate lords meeting. He was honestly surprised by that. Only the betrayal of Horath and throwing Doctor Wilhelm and the others to the lords had allowed him to keep his position.

At least, for the time being, he thought.

May they ever find another target for their ire, he thought. He knew he couldn't be too old, couldn't be too tired and ready to be pulled down from his lofty position. He'd survived this far right? And he had managed to extract two of his twenty ships from the trap he'd found himself in the Tau-1252 star system.

Two, just two. His force had out massed the enemy but he'd been a fool. He hadn't accounted for gathering intelligence ahead of time. He'd relied on his outdated knowledge of the star system. He hadn't expected the defenses there. Nor had he expected the enemy to be that formidable.

He shivered as he adjusted the patch covering his missing eye. His tail flicked in annoyance, the tuff at the end hitting his thigh. Maybe he was getting old. But damned if he'd turn over command to anyone else. No one had his training. Kix came close but he'd spent so long in the number 2 slot most of the other lords would reject him for the leadership role.

The African Neolion roared a yawn and then licked his scarred lips. His people had been amiable to him once they'd had their taste of human blood. He'd detailed a group of ships to cover the Tau-1252 jump point. They'd headed out in a motley lot. He reminded himself to have Kix assign someone more reliable to ride herd on them. With any luck they could ambush a force as it came in, though he couldn't count on luck. At least, not anymore. Lady Luck's blessings were favoring another person now.

His battle cruiser flagship Black Death had been brutalized in the battle. She had just about shot herself dry of all forms of missiles. The Tauren battle cruiser had been hardy though, she'd survived against all odds. She'd lost most of her weapons in the process, but she'd survived.

He needed her back into fighting trim as quickly as possible if he was going to maintain control of the other pirates as well as have a chance at beating off any Federation offenses that came his way. That was why he had Captain Dab and Captain Black working with Kix to get the job done.

He had decided to remain on the ship despite the battle cruiser being laid up in the yard for hasty repairs and resupply. He'd even gone so far as to keeping his harem/pride on board, the stated reason was for his comfort but it was also in case he needed to leave the system in a hurry.

To say that his position had been undermined by the retreat was putting it mildly. His unceremonious return with his tail figuratively tucked between his legs in a broken and nearly toothless ship hadn't sat well with him or anyone. Black Corsage, Captain Gutt's heavy cruiser was barely better off than his own.

And the stated reason he was remaining on his ship, to make sure he could command from her in a hurry should the Feds arrived kept that undercurrent and scuttlebutt that he wanted a fast getaway alive.

It also pointed to his avoidance of wanting to face the pirate lords or the public on Tortuga.

Fortunately, Captain Gutt and a few of the other older pirate lords had remained loyal to him. He wasn't certain if it was due to his rank and long standing with them or because they knew that if he was pulled down the others would resort to infighting and then break up as they fled, doing most of the work of the Feds for them. It could have also been due to the shock of the betrayal of the homeworld.

He had shut down any ship that had attempted to leave. He would need to work on the lords and public. Decisive action and a healthy reminder of who they didn't want to cross should put an end to the muttering.

He checked on the lords. Just as he'd thought, most had returned to their ships after the report of the lab's breech and deaths. They'd even sounded recall, no doubt just in case the enemy showed up. It was a pity that the wolves hadn't made the bitch's death last longer.

The same for Wilhelm. That one had deserved to spend days in pain before he'd expired. He'd gotten off lightly.

A mob was at play in the base, hunting down supporters of the Horathians. He'd heard a few had been strung up. Shore patrol was concerned about the rapes, but he shrugged such things off. The women should know better by now, and the men who'd suffered too.

He turned to working on a tentative plan to mount a counter offense. But he needed a better way to handle it. If he could just get the Commodore to turtle he might have a chance to evacuate the cream of Tortuga to one of the other bases.

But she could have their locations too, he reminded himself.

He had a dozen ships already in space. None were larger than a light cruiser. He'd taken the cream with him to Virgin Holes and on that last death ride. He needed them on the picket. He wrote out orders for six of the best to get to the Tau-1252 jump point and to picket it.

That left the others, plus the 27 warships still in dock. There were ten additional warships clearing for action. Another 12 were trying to get underway but were reporting various levels of readiness. Two had malfunctioning hyperdrives. They were doomed to remain if they couldn't get them repaired. Five more were dark. They had been cannibalized for parts. He had no idea if they could be repaired or not.

Seventy ships were prize ships within the interior of the rock and docked to the ring around the exterior. Six of those had been turned into habitats. They were trying to get underway but there was no way they'd do it. Not with so many changes to their hulls and spaces. He shook his head and mentally wrote them and their crews off.

Nineteen ships were privateers, former prize ships turned into armed ships. They were old though, most of the privateers were either out and about collecting booty or in other ports. Those that remained were trying to get crews. Only 3 were out of the dock and were reporting that they were functional.

No doubt the gnolls and other engineers had their work cut out for them. Well, tough for the other ships, his came first.

The light blinked indicating an incoming call. He checked the status; it was internal on the ship. The caller ID said it with the ship's XO. He snorted and hit the accept key with his right index claw.

“Sir, we've got that latest report on the damage and an initial schedule on repairs,” Commander Dolon Lycaon reported. The Commander was the XO of the ship. Captain Black was in command but the Commander's ...unique status with Captain Wilda Dab helped in some ways.

“Good, good.”

He personally doubted they'd be able to do much soon. The yard was a truss slip with the core made out of an old factory ship. Habitat modules had been tacked on as she'd grown, like cancerous growths. Most of those modules held basic equipment or stores at best. Trying to rebuild a ship like Black Death let alone Black Corsage was pushing it he knew.

Not that he wasn't going to do so anyway. He'd already promised the Neoorangutan that his precious Black Corsage would be next in line.

“Are we still going to try to mount an offense sir?”

The admiral studied the Neowolf thoughtfully and then shrugged. “We've got the yard, we've got the warehouses, let's use them.” He left unsaid that it would at least keep his people busy and doing something. Who knows, it might work. At the least it would give them more material or even ships to use to defend the base or run with should it come to either scenario.

“You think we can win sir?”

“I think we if we run we'll keep running. I'm an admiral damn it, a lion not a mouse!” the admiral roared, finally losing patience. It had been a long stressful day.

The Neowolf's eyes widened on the screen. “Aye aye sir. Sorry sir. No disrespect sir,” he said, raising his muzzle in token of submission.

The admiral saw that and then grunted. He heard a chur behind him and turned to see the ladies coming out of their quarters to see what the fuss was about. “Handle it. Unless there is an emergency don't disturb me. I expect some major progress on all fronts when I return to duty tomorrow.”

“Ah... aye aye sir. I'll pass that along,” the wolf said nervously.

“See that you do. And maybe we can arrange a conjugal visit with your mate in the near future,” the admiral teased wickedly. He saw the naked fear in the wolf's expression and chuffed in amusement as he shut the channel down.

<()>^<()>