A Chance Encounter of the Worst Kind.

[Gamazson]

Once again Michelle was overwhelmed with colour. What ever gases were combine with hydrogen in Seto's atmosphere were creating a brilliant blue blaze that danced along the Mistress's hull. She could see the hot Shokoku sun just above the port bow shinning through the thick orange atmosphere. If only she had a free hand for her camera.

A loud *ahem* over the ships comm brought Michelle back to her normal senses.

"This is a friendly reminder from th gear grinder to the Little Miss Hot Pants. Over"

"Reminder of what Howard?" Replied Owen who was closer to the microphone.

"That hair raising chases through dense atmospheres were not on the mind of the narrow sighted frak-sticks who built the Mistress. She is a fat hag of a ship, not no fighter. Over"

Michelle leaned over Owen's arm to get in closer to the microphone. "She may be a fat hag Howard, but she has the heart of a ballerina. Watch me make her dance!"

Giving Owen a side ways glance Michelle returned to her status board. The chase was going deeper and deeper into the atmosphere. A hull was going to buckle, and it wasn't going to be the Mistress.

****

There was a powerful jolt. Seth rolled over to the other side of the bed. Great they got another green tug pilot pushing them into a moor again.

Now where was did he leave off? Ah yes she was still taking her top off. He loved it when they played with him a bit. This one was good. She nibbled on her finger and spun the removed undergarment in the air. Cocking her head side ways she approached Seth's bed. It began to vibrate.

That was new, most beds in a Dock lizards lounge barely deserved the name. This one obviously had mechanical problems, it was shaking oddly. Normally these things were a bit more controlled and focused on specific areas of the body. Regardless it made things kinky.

She was on the bed crawling along his chest now. Dang she had talented hands! She kissed his neck for a good long time. Moving her face to his she opened her mouth. Seth wanted to hear the dirty words so badly. Instead she opens wide and releases the deafening sound of highly stressed metal.

In an instant the dock lizard disappeared and Seth's state room started to come into focus. His windows were casting a blue and orange light. That was strange. Worse the the sound of moaning steel had not stopped. In fact that sound was getting worse.

It was difficult but Seth managed to roll over to his side. The line he hung across his room to hang his drying laundry was practically touching the floor. He barely had enough string when he hung that. Where did the extra length come from?

BANG

Seth immediately covered his head with his sheets. A fraking bolt just sprung from the bulk head and had shot a good 3 inch hole in the other side. Seth would have jumped out of bed but gravity seemed to have increased to 3 times earth norm. Pulling himself up Seth could see the dense orange cloud outside his window. They were in a fraking atmosphere! A fraking gas giant atmosphere! What the frak were those retards doing to his ship!

The Mistress wasn't liking this. Nowhere in the ship was rigid. The whole damn thing wanted to cave in on itself. Frak! Seth ran to the bridge. His crews were never the brightest but this had to top the list of the stupid things a cew had ever done! When he got there somebody had better have some darn good answers!

Seth was forced to push the dorr open on to the bridge. All the pressure outside was squeezing the heck out of the doors. Charging in wieght seemed to lift of of his shoulders. The gravity was still strong but much closer to earth norm. At least someone in here was smart enough to turn off the artificial grav. Taking his seat he asked the first thing on his mind.

"What in the name of frakin fraked up Eris do you all think you're frakin doing!"

"We got ourselves some heads up ahead boss" Replied Michelle in a tone far too calm for Seth's liking. "Nothing has come undone yet!"

"Really! tell that to the fraking bolt that almost killed me!" Seth made a point of keeping his voice on a steady rise "Is that a fraking Ravens Claw! How many heads does it have? TWO?"

"Five and a half" Owen looked over his shoulder "The pilot is a little crazy as you can see."

"I know I see at least one crazy pilot in this room!" boomed Seth

"HAHA" Seth could tell that Michelle was getting steadliy more excited. It was scaring the crap out of him. " Look at that. I told you his hull would make him leave before us!"

The ravens claw pulled upward out of the planets atmosphere leaving three bright flashes in its wake.

"Crap! Counter measure flares' Michelle tried to make the Mistress take an evasive maneuver but it was too late. The flares had ignited the hydrogen. Two set off explosions just close enough to scare, The last one detonated a pocket of gas off the port bow. The ship lurched and almost did a death roll.

"Michelle get this damn thing skyward!"

Pulling back with hard on the controls Michelle pulled the Submissive Mistress into a low orbit. Everyone on the bridge took a few minutes to breath. Seth and Michelle did not speak. Damaging his ship in order to get a quick payoff was unforgivable. She frakin well knew that. He had made her kill a man for less.

Seth put off his anger for the moment. The important thing right now was to make sure the Mistress could still fly. Going up to Owen's console Seth grabbed the microphone.

"Vaan get off the floor and do something useful" Clicking the microphone called Howard. "Hows it going down there. You think we can still fly after that?"

No response. That wasn't like Howard at all. He should be cursing so much that an entire base of pirates would blush.

"Howard?" the silence lasted for another several seconds before being broken by the sound of the ship wide comm going active. What came next was scarier then Michelle's flying. Ever hall, every bulk head vibrated form the the most disheartening this Seth had ever heard.

MUAWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

---

AKA Nexus