“Say again?” The voice crackled over the intercom, marred with static, but the speaker’s surprise came through anyway.
Sasha grinned, barely holding back laughter. “I say again, Tetra Station, this is Dreadnought 429 requesting permission to dock. We’ve come for your women. Also your men. Really, anyone who wants to go and who has working parts. I’ve got a ship full of inquisitors and we’re all so very eager to meet you.”
“Ma’am, is this some kind of joke? The only thing on my screens is shuttle-sized, and it looks more like a sensor glitch than anything. It sure as hell isn’t a dreadnought, and there’s no way—“
The lights on the bridge went from a blue to red as the stealthy equipment of the ship was deactivated. The strangled sound that came from the speakers was drowned out by the laughter of the ‘bridge crew’. “Say again, Tetra Station, you say the only thing you see is a shuttle?”
“Ohmygodswhatareyoupeopledoingohshitthatthingishugeholyfuc—“
Sasha cut off the comm. It didn’t really matter anyway, Tetra station didn’t have any ports near big enough for a ship their size, but it was fun to tease them. The monitors showed the ship’s boarding craft already scurrying over the station.
Soon the ship would have some new passengers—those that agreed to come, anyway. Still, Sasha was confident they’d get plenty of new blood. Trained inquisitors could be very persuasive people, even without their drugs or their trances, since the promise of either of those things meant ecstasy beyond the dreams of most folk.
“Waaaaait wait wait wait waaaaiiiiittTTT!”
Sasha looked back at the lift, unsure she’d heard anything, when the yell came again. There was a ding and the doors opened for Vicky, running out onto the bridge with some strange headgear in her hand. She was panting, almost doubled-over, but she had a stupid grin on her face that was infectious. She managed another “wait” between wheezes.
“Wait for what?” Sasha leaned forward, giving Vicky a view of the monitor.
“Oh no!” Vicky’s ears fell. “You weren’t supposed to talk to them this fast.”
“Why, what have you got there?”
In reply, Vicky merely held out her hands. In one she clutched a black eyepatch, and in the other was an old black hat, complete with skull and crossbones.
Sasha found herself sharing Vicky’s grin.