Chapter 42. The conspiracy of the nigger Captain Razor
Razor stood on the bridge of the Negro in a defensive stance, opposite Spinner, holding a Klingon knife. They stared at each other, awaiting each other's every move, ready to attack at any moment. This battle is about dominance of the ship. Whoever wins will become captain and decide future actions and attack targets. The situation is very tense. So far, no side has been able to gain an absolute advantage. The outcome remains unknown.
Minutes ago, Spin Turtle burst into the bridge and challenged Razer. He wanted to stab him to death directly in the commander's chair. Not too glorious, but what can you expect from a Klingon pirate? Although Lei Ze successfully blocked the attack, he had no weapons at that time. This is an unforgivable mistake. Of course, there are no melee weapons around him. So he had to fight with his bare hands, while the Turtle was armed with a stabbing blade, ready to launch a deadly attack.
"Don't do anything stupid, spinner," Razor growled. "If you wait a little longer, my plan will succeed, we will capture a treasure ship, and no one will dare to fear us anymore."
"The gibberish of a coward," the Spin Turtle said scornfully, attacking again.
But Razer blocked the blow and struck the Spin Turtle hard on the waist, causing the Klingon to stagger. However, the Spin Turtle quickly regained its balance and circled around the captain again, preparing to attack again.
"Let's get this over with," Reiser said. "We've been fighting for several minutes but making no progress at all." Ever since they were tracked by Kablan's warship, the mood of the crew had turned against the captain, as few knew what exactly he was trying to achieve. They could have become invisible or increased their speed. Instead, they flew brazenly and slowly away from their opponents, so that they gradually caught up with them.
Lei Ze can only take advantage of this duel, if he can survive. He knew full well that the longer the battle went on, the more likely the crew would back him up again. Because if they saw that the Spin Turtle took that long to defeat an unarmed man, he couldn't be a very good captain either. But on the other hand, Razer also knew that the Klingons had better physical strength, and these small attacks would only weaken him.
"Attention, there is a demonic battleship ahead!" Dewen shouted excitedly.
"We should put the fight on hold for now," Reiser suggested. "The demonic flames are now our common enemy."
"Coward!" the Spin Turtle shouted, not intending to give up.
"There are demonic flame warships outside. If we want to survive, we must fight against them now." Spin Turtle shouted.
"What if I told you," the Spin Turtle raised his voice, "that your elegant captain has made an agreement with the Demon Flame!" There was a tone of victory in his voice, and the crew looked at the captain in surprise and shock.
"That's not the whole truth," Razer said, raising his voice as well. "We did have a deal, yes. But it fell apart." He was secretly surprised at how the Spinner knew. No one knows about this.
"So what's the deal like?" Spin Turtle wondered, his tentacles expressing doubt.
"They wanted me to tell them how to most easily lure the Republic fleet. In exchange, they promised to give us one of their wonder weapons." It was a tantalizing prospect. Armed with one of these powerful ship-based weapons, they are nearly invincible. No one dares to block their way anymore. The crew seemed to have the same idea as the rejection disappeared from their faces. "But they didn't follow the protocol," Reiser continued. "Now we will take back what is ours. This battle will leave a lot of debris. We can get what we want."
"Only if we can survive the battle." Devon was still skeptical.
Lei Ze showed a meaningful smile. "Of course we'll survive. Because we won't go to war at all." He smiled confidently. "We're bringing in a guy who's going to fight for us."
At first, the crew didn't seem to understand what he meant. But then it dawned on them, and excitement spread. The Spin Turtle soon realized he was at a disadvantage. Even if he wins, the crew won't support him anymore. But he didn't want to give up yet and stabbed at Lei Ze again.
However, the Captain once again neutralized the attack, knocking the Spin Turtle's knife away and using his own momentum to trip the Klingon Spin Turtle onto its outstretched legs. With extremely quick movements, he snatched the knife from Spin Turtle's hand. His knees pressed against Spin Turtle's shoulders, preventing him from moving.
The crew is still filled with joy at their impending victory, and the Spin Turtle's renewed attack on the captain is completely unexpected.
"Damn it, that's enough!" the Spin Turtle shouted, turning back to the console.
"Kill me," hissed the Spin Turtle. "That's the price of failure."
Lei Ze put the knife on the turtle's neck and prepared to stab it. But then he took it back. "Stand up, Spin Turtle. You're not going to die now. I still need you."
The Spin Turtle reluctantly stood up. "You have insulted my character and my honor," he said shamefully.
"Stop being so squeamish," Raze replied. Although he fully understood what the Klingons said about honor, he had no time to care about it now. His eyes fell on the knife still held in his hand. If he kept it, it would take away the Spin Turtle's honor. This was something he couldn't risk, as the Tortoise would become even more unpredictable as a result. So he handed him the knife, hilt facing forward. The Spin Turtle could easily end this now. With just one quick stab, Lei Ze's heart would be pierced by a knife.
But he can't do that. The looks in his crew told him that if he did, he wouldn't live long enough to cheer in victory. Therefore, he took the knife, nodded slightly, and returned to his post.
Razer knew it might be easier in the long run to kill the spinner turtles. But now they will face a new conflict. But this is a matter to be considered later. The first thing to do now is to survive and defeat the demonic flames.
"Alert level red," he ordered. "Fly as far as possible over the demon flame ship that is still fighting. Then release all weapons, and then we will disguise ourselves and quietly observe the battle."
The Black Ghost flew over the Demon Flame Ship and then disappeared from the sight and sensors of the universe. The fleet pursuing them now realizes they are locked in a battle with the demonic flames. As Lei Ze said before, they could no longer retreat. Therefore, they stopped their pursuit and turned to attack the demonic flames.
Razor observed what was happening on the screen with great pleasure. So far, everything is going according to plan. Hopefully this continues and they can get some of the Demon Flame's technology. They will be the first to do it.
"Captain, one of the Demon Flame ships has been severely damaged and is floating in space without control. There are only a few signs of life. It is no longer participating in the battle," Devin reported happily.
"That's good," Razer thought to himself. Things are finally progressing. "Spin Turtle, move us closer to the side of that ship. Let's see what else we can find there." He stood up and walked to Devon's position. "How are the sensors? How are the weapons on the ship?"
"Part of the weapon appears to still be intact. My guess is there's something wrong with the control system, otherwise it could be firing blindly into space."
"But the weapon itself can still be used?" Lei Ze asked.
"I'm not sure," Devon shrugged. "We just have to go and see it in person."
"So we are going there?" Lei Ze asked.
"Yes."
Lei Ze looked around the bridge. This was not his original plan. After all, boarding an enemy ship during a battle is somewhat dangerous, even if it's no longer actively involved in the battle, and there's a chance it could be accidentally shot down in the chaos.
But if he didn't want to return in vain, what other option did he have?
"Okay, let's go over there," he said loud enough for everyone else on the bridge to hear.
"What?" the Spin Turtle exclaimed. "During the battle?"
"Yes, that's right." Lei Ze replied.
"I will never go over there," the Spin Turtle responded.
"I thought the Andos were all competitive warriors?" the captain sarcastically said.
A mocking laugh from another Klingon came from across the way, before Spin Turtle could respond.
"We are warriors, but not life-threatening," he said weakly at the end.
"We can rob a Demon Flame weapon over there, and maybe we can integrate it into our system, so that we can have better advantages and become more powerful in the future," Lei Ze said to everyone again . "You don't all have to go with me," he said to the crew boredly, "but Turtle, Elma, Matthew and Shao Wei have to go with me. Let's go." He hoped to complete this as soon as possible in case Something unexpected happened.
The Spin Turtle reluctantly stood up. He knew exactly why he had to go along. Lei Ze was unwilling to take the risk of leaving the Spinner Turtle behind. Otherwise he would worry that the Klingons would take advantage of the captain's absence, seize control, and inflict losses on the group outside.
When they arrived at the Demon Flame ship, they discovered that it was much more damaged than the sensors indicated.
"This ship won't last much longer," Irma shouted, trying to drown out the hiss of a broken pipe. "Triangulation shows there is damage to the casing and it's growing. We should hurry, we only have less than a few minutes."
"Okay," Razer replied. "Which way to go?"
"Go straight. We're pretty close." The captain might have been surprised if that wasn't the case, since the ship wasn't very big.
They moved on, sometimes stumbling over fallen parts and sometimes passing bodies lying on the ground. The corridor was very dark due to a faulty lighting system. Although they had flashlights, debris and broken cables kept creating ghostly shadows that could easily be mistaken for enemies.
"That's over there," Irma pointed at something that, to Razer, looked like everything else.
“This thing is so big,” Reiser mused. "Can we take so much?"
"No, we don't need that many," Irma waved her hand. "But the core is important, as well as some data pulled from the computer so we can assemble it correctly." She's a technician and has to know what they need. Shao Wei and Matthew occasionally help her in technical aspects, but they are far from being able to compare with her.
While Alma was busy manipulating the computer console, Matthew and Shao Wei began to violently dismantle the core part of the weapon. In addition to waiting, Spin Turtle and Lei Ze also paid attention to their surroundings.
Razor looked uneasily at the walls and ceiling of the area. They should be on the outside of the hull, as there is no point in using such a weapon inside. Hairline cracks have appeared in the ceiling and walls. Apparently the hull shell is still intact at this point, because if the cracks extended all the way to the outside, the hull structure would collapse and the entire wall would tear off and float away into space. But now it's barely holding on. But how long can it last? It can crash at any time.
Suddenly, he heard a sound. what is that? I only listened for a moment, but before I could really hear it clearly, the sound disappeared. Then there was another sound. It's closer now. The spin turtle seemed to hear it too. The two of them raised their phaser rifles and listened warily. Again, the voice sounded. It sounded like footsteps. Yes, it was footsteps.
"Be careful!" Lei Ze shouted and immediately took cover. Fortunately, he reacted in time, because the next shot hit the equipment behind him. The spinners also found cover and they began to fight back. It wasn't easy though, as the wide passage leading to the weapons bay provided a large surface for the enemy to attack, and the ruins provided a lot of cover. Razer estimated the number of enemies at about ten. They simply cannot sustain resistance.
"Irma!" he shouted.
"Almost done," came the reply. She had to complete the data download first or the attack would be in vain.
Razor cursed, then fired off a few more shots, ducking back for cover again. They must try to keep their enemies at a distance. Then he glanced quickly at Matthew and Shao Wei. They're almost done. There is a connecting cable that cannot be unplugged. So the weapon remains stuck. They tugged together. Suddenly, Matthew fell down. One shot hit her squarely in the back. She fell from a high platform about half a meter away, leaving a clear hole in her chest. These hateful demonic flames actually killed one of their crew members.
Alma looked up briefly in shock, but was now concentrating on the cable. She simply shot the cable through with a handheld exciter.
The Spin Turtle fired several shots at the demonic flames, but Lei Ze heard the demonic flames slowly approaching.
"It's done," cried Irma.
Lei Ze quickly took out his communicator and shouted, "Teleport us back immediately."
He breathed a sigh of relief and felt the floor of the transport room. They succeeded. "Where are the weapons?" He looked around. It's not here. Have all their efforts been in vain?
"It's being sent to engineering," the man behind the console explained.
"Okay." Lei Ze quickly stood up. "Tell the bridge we're evacuating. Hurry, otherwise the situation over there will get worse."
