text: [Themes: sci-fi, science fiction, fantasy, war]
  
  You wake up to the beeping of the pods central console. A calming one actually, like that of a sonar. You touch your entire body with your hands to double check that you landed with ease, which came to much surprise that you didn't feel any pain. These pods were notorious for throwing out backs on landing, which would have made things much more difficult obviously. Seeing that you were indeed O.K, you grabbed the lever for the pod hatch and yanked it back, releasing all the air from inside in one big gush.
  
  Pulling yourself from your feet, you clasped your hands together in anticipation to see where you had landed. Exiting the pod, one look of your immediate area was already making your knees tremble and your stomach churn.
  
  Desert.
  
  Nothing but sandy hills as far as the eye could see.
  
  The computer decided that a 'suitable' landing zone would be a butt-fuck Egypt look alike, you've actually been fucked over. Your heart skips beats as you start freaking the fuck out. While trying to look at any positive outcomes while pacing back and forth in the sand you come to a few positive conclusions. The computer said that there was a at water source nearby that would suit you long term, a hidden oasis maybe?
  
  A small ounce of relief came to you knowing you wouldn't be dehydrated. The stash of emergency supplies in the back of the pod would also come to your aid. Making your way towards the back of the pod, you place both hands on the bulky handle and with one foot on the pod give it one mighty pull knowing it would most likely be sealed pretty tight.
  
  What instead happens is that you fall right on your ass with the hatch opening with relative ease compared to what you originally thought.
  
  Fuck you assumptions.
  
  Picking yourself up on your knee, you open the hatch fully to see numerous goodies stored inside.
  
  The first thing you pulled out was a heavy back pack,no doubt with supplies inside. Unzipping the main pocket revealed a hoodie, A book named How to survive anywhere 1001, compass, crank flash-light, large survival knife, and other handy supplies.
  
  Of course at the very bottom was the packet of 'death' pills that you expected to see, at least if you were to intentionally die it would be quick and painless, or so the manufacturers of the pills promised.
  
  Putting all the items back inside the backpack, you looked through the rest of the contents of the hatch only to find rations of food and numerous bottles of water along with a personal metal water filtration one.
  
  'Guaranteed to work with urine!'
  
  That big slogan plastered on the bottle made you shudder a bit as you placed everything back inside the hatch. If you remember correctly, pod food rations were expected to last at least a few months, since most of it was special nutrient pills. What a time to be alive.
  
  The next objective on your agenda was to find shelter, which would have to be your pod as there was nothing else in this sandy hell-hole that would be suitable to sleep in. alright, so you weren't totally fucked as you originally thought, but the prospect of being stuck here in this probably mile stretched desert wouldn't really be good for long term survival in your eyes.
  
  There was still the challenge of also finding the 'oasis' that would most likely be your water source, unless the computer really fucked you over and it was actually some underground spring that you had no chance at getting, but then again it was able to be seen by Reach so it had to practical.
  
  The time seemed to be midway, the sun this planet orbited was luckily almost identical to the one back at Earth. The only major difference was the two giant moons that were easily seen up above, one blue and one a grayish color.You had no idea how long the days were on the planet, but you were sure you heard somewhere that they were longer by a few more hours.
  
  Your mind kept on deciding on wether or not to stay put or go out looking for the Oasis, as water wasn't extremely important considering the resources that you already had.
  
  You decide to...
  
  > stay put and fuck around
  Yeah you didn't really want to wander around a fucking desert in hopes of finding the equivalent to a needle in a haystack. You had other more important things to do anyway, like reading that survival book that was in the backpack. Opening the hatch back up you first took the survival knife and placed it in your front pocket with it already being sheathed.
  
  You scrounged around in the backpack until you found the book, taking it and putting everything else inside the hatch. Opening the book you saw that everything was conveniently bullet pointed and categorized in different subjects. You started reading the first few tips.
  
  1. Find Water Source
  
  2. Seek close enough shelter near water source
  
  3. If only water source, do not pollute and make sure to boil if without purification bottle.
  
  Ok well fuck you to then.
  
  You skip ahead halfway into the book looking for any actual useful information.
  
  322. If stranded on a planet, it will be expected for there to be at least one survivor so expect a rescue party in the future, satellites may have already taken a picture of you confirming you're not deceased.
  
  You'd be surprised if anyone back home knew if any of you were alive, the aliens must have jammed your signals since your captain wasn't able to relay anything out during the ambush. You knew deep down though that the people back home wouldn't give up, they would return and colonize this world one way or another.
  
  Knowing this, you felt a little pride since you were the first Human to touch down. Which meant that you were the first to be able to claim and discover. Even if the confederation were to take away anything you had, you sure as hell weren't going to lose it without a fight, you had a few years head start anyway before a colonization fleet or armada would be able to reach this planet.
  
  You just had to find a way out of this desert, you could make no progress here, just basic survival. That would also mean leaving your only shelter, which meant if you were to try to travel it would have to be early in the morning at the first sign of daylight.
  
  With your survival items being taken account for, and being to lazy to go out looking for water, you decided that the only other thing to do was to just take a nap. After all you were worn out from all the events that took place in the span of a few hours, just for today would you be lazy, just for today.
  
  Putting everything back inside the hatch of your pod, you re-enter it and start to get comfortable in the leather seat. Oh how you wish it was a reclinable.
  
  Surprisingly, you were soon falling asleep.
  
  > Quick Nap
  "Hey buddy, you sleeping well?"
  
  Fuck.
  
  The voice was enough to immediately bring you to your senses. Your head was facing away from whomever it was but your eyes were wide open with your head at a certain tilt for them to know that you were awake.
  
  Please be a nightmare, please just be a nightmare.
  
  "We saw you drop outta that cruiser back up there, took awhile to track you down..." The voice was calm and sinister at the same time which was about to make you shit your pants.
  
  "Alright grab him and put him on board with the others, that should be the last one."
  
  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck
  
  You were going to become a anal sex slave, you were already calling it. Something was penetrating your asshole by the end of day.
  
  As hands start to reach for you, you turn and look at your soon to be abductor, you are surprised to see a human among them.
  
  "Don't struggle or we can easily escort you." He warns, being the owner of the calm voice.
  
  You limply let one of his alien looking buddies take you by the bicep and bring you out with great strength and ease on his part. With another soldier grabbing you by the other bicep, you then are escorted away from your pod.
  
  There were about seven or eight other abductors outside forming a perimeter who were all looking at you with weapons in hands. One of them also being another human but much more wide and lean.
  
  The other human starts to speak in a language unknown to you as the guards around your pod start to follow behind the human that captured you.
  
  Two of ships that had attacked your fleet lay parked up ahead in a flattened sandy dune.
  
  You weren't even on this planet for a full day and already you were being captured and taken off planet, fucking great.
  
  Walking up the ramp to one of the ships which was slightly larger then it's opposite, a smell of stale air and metal overcame your nostrils.
  
  The human again begins to order the two aliens grabbing you. "Take him into the pens and keep guard until we land again."
  
  One of the aliens gives a nod and the two start to escort you through a set of doors going deeper and downwards towards the bottom of the ship.
  
  You realized that the goons still hadn't searched you yet, your survival knife rubbing against your thigh with each step.
  
  Finally arriving in your destination, entering the room gave you a strong stench of filth that almost made you want to gag and turned your eyes watery. You were able to overlook at what was down below which was the cause of the smell. Dozens and dozens of cages were lined up, fitting three or four aliens each, some of them being humans. You could already recognize one in which held your captain towards the far back end.
  
  A few guards stood above it all on grated walkways that could overlook all the cells with ease. Escorted down metal wet stairs, you were escorted to where most of the other humans were also held.
  
  With absolute total luck on your side like always, the aliens put you in the cell that held your captain and a few other of your crew mates. All of who were staring at you with both disbelief and disgust.
  
  Opening the cell and pushing you inside, you heard the door behind you close and lock shut as the goons went to go do their guard duties close by.
  
  > Inmates
  Your captain was the first to speak.
  
  "You fucking sniveling little piece of shit, you stole my escape pod." He takes a few menacing steps towards you, with no bindings on either of your hands.
  
  You take a few steps back and start to defend yourself with your hands raised flat to calm him down"Alright relax their Earl, it's not like you were planning on using it anyway, I wasn't about to die for no Confederation."
  
  That only seems to piss him off more. "You fool! When they started to get ready to board I decided that the women and more weaker members of our crew should have the right to escape down here in my personal pod. Everyone else was in agreement, and the pod would have been able to fit at least two to three people, but you had to be selfish and take it all for yourself."
  
  The hardened man swings a haymaker at you, which you duck away from and scurry to the other end of the cell. Luckily the two other people in the cell were women who just watched in silence, they weren't the strong ones like Lora and Gwen who could have easily destroyed you had they been here.
  
  You try to defend yourself with words a bit more. "They found me anyway, so it's not like they would have gotten far in the pod, it makes no difference now."
  
  "It's the fucking principle you roach!"
  
  Another haymaker from him, this time actually landing across your cheek, making you stumble back a few steps and land on your ass.
  
  Fuck that hurt, the old man wasn't going to give up either with him starting to circle you and looking as if to go in for a much more prolonged beating.
  
  That's when you remembered that you still had the knife on you, the stupid pieces of shit hadn't searched you at all even when they put you in here.
  
  That is, if you actually were planning on killing your captain in front of all your other crew mates. There would be no going back from something like that.
  
  > kill the fucker
  Enough of this stupid fucking shit, you tried reasoning with the old fuck but if he wanted to take it to the extreme then so be it.
  
  Whipping your knife from your pocket you click it open, a four inch blade now ready to strike. Seeing this your captain takes a few steps back, bewildered that you have it in your possession.
  
  "Now easy there, don't do anything that-." You don't let him finish.
  
  Running at him with quick speed, you bypass his hand that futility trys to block your incoming charge and embed your blade deep into his abdomen.
  
  He grunts in pain as one of the women in your cell screams in shock. You had to get this done before any of the guards tried to intervene.
  
  Your other crew mates from nearby cells watch this unfold, and start to yell in protest along with trying to get attention of the guards.
  
  You stab your captain twice more in the stomach with quick succession as you bring him down to the floor. It is now that he starts coughing up blood, losing strength quickly, now not even being able wriggle from your weight on top of his.
  
  You start hearing keys jingle as foreign gibberish comes from one of the guards mouths as he'll soon have you in his hands.
  
  "Get off of him, you've done enough!" The same woman screaming earlier yells at you.
  
  Ignoring her you knew that it was now or never, you place your palm on your captains chin and push it up while your other quickly slices at his neck in a X pattern, trying to cut as deeply as you possibly could. Dark blood starts shooting up into your face as you get off of the soon to be dead man.
  
  You don't get to hear gurgle for much longer as a strong quick kick to your face renders you unconscious in a matter of seconds.
  
  > Sleep
  You awakened, not knowing how much time had passed since the murder of your captain. You weren't in your cell, and instead had your hands tied behind you while you sat on a cold metal chair. All was dark except for dim light that encircled you ominously.
  
  A painful stinging sensation was felt near your forehead, and looking down at your brown uniform revealed large blood stains all over it. Most likely from both the Captain and yourself.
  
  You knew you were alone, with voices being heard through the metal walls that surrounded you. They were loud, as if arguing heavily over something, most likely the punishment that would be inflicted on you. Best case scenario would be a painless execution instead of torturing you which would be the most likely scenario.
  
  Soon though, you heard the metal door of your room start to open as men started filing in, one of them being the Human that had captured you earlier.
  
  Pulling up a chair from out of the void darkness that encircled you, he placed it in front of you and sat down. The smile spread across his face giving you a wide variety of emotions.
  
  "You did quite the damage to your superior." He starts, eyeing you with a calculating expression.
  
  "It was self defense." Is all you mutter.
  
  He laughs heartily at that. "Oh I think we both know that was more than just self defense, but yes if he attacked you first the he had something coming."
  
  A tinge of relief comes over you knowing that he could see it through your eyes.
  
  "Either way, I would usually castrate someone who hurt my profits, especially those that are as profitable as you." His smile fades, and so does your relief.
  
  He just starts to stare you silently, looking at you with deep and expressionless eyes. While trying not to shit your pants you try to mimic his expressionless face.
  
  "How close were you to your Captain?" He asks.
  
  > Close
  "I was very close to him. I had always done what he asked and he would often reward me for my work."
  
  "So you were a bootlicker then?" The man laughs.
  
  You shrug. "Whatever it takes to make life a little bit easier on such a long journey then might as well do what you can."
  
  He nods. "I appreciate that sentiment.
  
  He asks another question.
  
  "Why did you escape from your ship?"
  
  > save your own skin
  "The man was fucking suicidal and so were my crew-mates who followed him into his would be death. Can you blame man for not wanting to die like that?"
  
  "So you were loyal to your captain, but not enough to die for him?"
  
  You nod vigorously.
  
  "Interesting..." He states, rubbing his chin.
  
  "So then why did you kill him?"
  
  > No other option
  "I could see no other option at that point to be perfectly honest. I tried to stop him before hand but he just kept at it. He was much more experienced when it came to fighting and could have easily killed me if he had gotten any more of a advantage over me, which he probably would have done. It's not like I wanted to kill him, but if I had let him live then he probably would had came after me afterwards to get revenge, so might as well have ended all future problems."
  
  The man nods.
  
  "Yes, no doubt that he would have wanted to get back at you, and when you pulled out that knife there was no going back."
  
  He starts to rub his eyes.
  
  "Still though, killing your captain like that even when you were close to him still makes me wonder about your hidden intentions."
  
  "No hidden intentions, when I left that ship I had hoped to never see the man again and just live out my life on that planet. It wasn't until he started throwing punches with such severity that I had to end his life."
  
  "I see..."
  
  "I think hes telling the truth, the man was asking to die in my opinion if he attacked him in the way he said he did." One of the aliens speaks up.
  
  You were surprised that they spoke English, along with speaking up for you.
  
  "You sure Grom?" The man asks the alien.
  
  He nods.
  
  The man sighs.
  
  "Well if Grom speaks up for you then might as well give you a shot in our crew, we need someone top mop the floors anyway now that Dustin is dead, unless you think that it would be to much of a lowly job for you."
  
  You rapidly shake your head.
  
  "I was actually a janitor on the ship that I was stationed on."
  
  He raises his eyebrows in surprise.
  
  "Is that so? Well I guess we should consider ourselves lucky then to have such a experienced man joining us."
  
  The aliens in the room laugh and you do too, wanting to get on everyone's good side.
  
  "Well then I guess I welcome you to our band of Scum, you can call me Kane." The man states.
  
  "Can we call him grub like we did Dustin?" One of the aliens in the room asks.
  
  "I don't see why not, unless your friend here disagrees."
  
  You shake your head.
  
  "Good! Welcome Grub, make yourself at home."
  
  > With friends like these...
  A couple of days have passed since you joined the ranks of these pirates. A uniform was given to you but not a carry on pistol blaster that every other pirate had in their holsters. You would still need to build up trust with these pirates before they would let you have one it seems. They gave you the job of janitor which of was no surprise, better than rotting in a cell like the other prisoners.
  
  It had also seemed that these pirates had a base somewhere on this planet in which their small fleet was heading. Apparently they keep all of their prisoners there until its time to take them off world to sell or if by chance a slaver ship passes by to buy in bulk. Your ship should have arrived there much earlier as it was less than a days travels to which you heard but your captain Kane kept on making stops to capture any of the natives that you had learned about if the ships encountered them.
  
  Most of them didn't put of much of a fight, mostly because Kane only stopped to capture those that were in groups of less than four.
  
  Grom, who had been one of the more nicer pirates to you, filled you in on what you needed to know.
  
  Apparently there was a large cluster of habitable planets with intelligent life similar to humans a good number of light years away which Earth still hadn't discovered or at least made public yet. The pirates were apart of a much bigger faction which originated from one of the planets in that cluster. They've even been to Fukon, which is where they captured some of the humans including Kane.
  
  Apparently Kane was one of the first to be captured when the pirates first reached Fukon, somehow the pirates were impressed by his skills and he managed to join in on their ranks. It took him less than a year it seems to have been made a captain of his own ship in the pirate fleet.
  
  The pirates seemed to have quite advanced technology as they were able to anticipate the arrival of your fleet months before it had arrived, they also jammed your signals so no one could call back home for help.
  
  There was also more news that worried you a bit.
  
  A new fleet was coming to Hulocke in a little over a year since it had already been station on Fukon. Apparently the fleet had left from Earth to Fukon a year into your own fleets journey with the task for protecting Fukon. With the news of the disappearance of your own fleet, they have been diverted to come to Hulocke. This fleet though would be much, much bigger and this time be heavily militarized.
  
  Wether or not your group of pirates will stick around and call for reinforcements or leave and abandon the planet along with its base is still unknown to you.
  
  You would just have to wait and see what was to happen.
  
  > The next day
  Finally you guys were landing. The smell of the ship was starting to fuck with you and you just needed to step outside again.
  
  Everyone on board was crowded in the garage in which the exit ramp was located. You stood next to Grom as everyone waited for the ramp to open.
  
  "Man I can't wait to finally fuck some slaves, it's already been a month." A pirate behind you says.
  
  "You realize how much that's going to cost you right?" Someone besides him asks.
  
  "Why do you think I only do it monthly, it's totally worth that payment.
  
  Grom laughs. "Don't get your balls bitten off like Charlie did the last time he tried fucking a slave."
  
  That seems to shut up the man behind you.
  
  A intercom from up above crackles and hisses before a Kane's voice is heard coming through.
  
  "Alright, everyone get out and stretch your legs and get some air. I want Red and Blue team back on the ship in ten minutes to help unload all the prisoners into the compound. Otherwise after we unload you guys are free to do as you wish until we head off again which should be in a couple more days. We might actually go into space for our next mission so be ready that. Otherwise have fun and don't get your balls bitten off like Charlie did."
  
  Everyone laughs as the sound of the of the lowering ramp starts to be heard. You shield your eyes as the brightness of the sun starts to blind most of the other pirates around you as they do the same. As the lowering finally stops everyone starts to rush out, already seeming to cause a congestion as everyone tries to get passed everyone. Grom with the tank like body he had, pushed passed everyone with ease as you followed close behind.
  
  The ship had landed in a wide open field where other ships had done the same. The long stretches of grass was a nice change compared to the desert in which you had assumed that you would be stuck in forever. Everyone from every other ship had formed a large crowd, all going in the same direction, towards one main building about a hundred yards away.
  
  Grom grabs you by the shoulder as the two of you continue to unload.
  
  "Hey I got assigned to one of the teams that's going to be unloading the prisoners, how about you do me a solid and help us with it. It's going to be a tedious and long task unless we have more help."
  
  You feel uneasy, especially since you had felt lucky not being assigned on one of the unloading teams. Grom seems to notice this and begins to persuade you more.
  
  "I'll owe you one after this, plus afterwards I'll give you a tour around the base. Trust me if you in there alone especially with you being a Human and newbie then your going to get ripped to pieces if anyone decides to gang up on you."
  
  You didn't want to doubt or question him on that advice so you nodded in agreement causing him to get a toothy smile.
  
  "Let's hurry and get this over with then, it shouldn't take too long unloading them if we don't get distracted."
  
  > get to Work
  Kane had said that the unloading teams would get around twenty to ten minutes leeway outside before they had to report back onto the ship and help to unload. Although for some odd reason Grom and you weren't the only one's getting a head start with five or six other pirates already escorting some of the prisoners out of their cells.
  
  "Ah this is great, now it shouldn't take as long as I originally thought." Grom says as you follow him towards a cell.
  
  "How many prisoners are even on board here?" You ask with curiosity.
  
  "About fifty or sixty, maybe more, we never manage to get to full capacity though, that's why we always try to land and snag some more of the natives before we get back to base."
  
  Grom stops at a cell and takes out a set of keys from his waist.
  
  "With both escort teams having about twenty people each along with volunteers, this shouldn't take us too long."
  
  The captives inside didn't intimidate you much, just two scrawny natives that didn't seem ready to put up a fight with someone like Grom. The two didn't put up any resistance as Grom restrained both of them and pushed one towards you.
  
  "Yeah we should get these type of prisoners out of the way first and leave the bigger ones for the rest of the guys. These fucks have nothing left to lose so no use putting ourselves into harms way if we can avoid it." Grom explains as the two of you begin escorting the prisoners off the ship.
  
  "Has a prisoner ever managed to kill one of you guys?" You ask a bit nervously.
  
  "Only on some spare occasions when we capture a hulking native, though usually now we save those guys for last and do it in groups. Captain says its worth keeping them alive, worth a lot on the market."
  
  The two of you continue to escort natives off the ship as the rest of the teams begin working as well, like Grom had instructed the two of you get the weaker flimsy prisoners first before anyone else has the chance to nab them.
  
  There were a few instances of some natives fighting back but the guards in the prison block stopped the revolts pretty quickly and knocked the troublemakers unconscious. Though by doing that the teams had to carry the heavy giants which was much worse overall considering the distance between the two prisons.
  
  You and Grom continued to chat through the work which really killed the time. It was interesting seeing all the different types of species and people that these pirates had captured. Some of the prisoners begged and pleaded with you while others were mute and servile to when you bound them. Some weird sadistic feeling of enjoyment and excitement teemed inside you from the interactions with these lowly slaves. Though you had self awareness that this could have been you had the situation been different Maybe you could use one of these slaves for personal gain if you found a obedient enough one.
  
  After all, you were planning on being a lowly grunt for these pirates forever. If Kane as a human could get where he is then there's no excuse that you couldn't do the same, maybe even achieving higher. With Grom also being your guide and a friend in this faction there was no excuse for you not take advantage of your opportunity. How you would go about getting renown and recognition you were still unsure. Volunteering for tasks and building relations with your fellow pirates was a good first step though, you just needed to wait for the perfect opportunity.
  
  The escort assignment was finished with ease. Your team managed to finish their number of escorts first compared to everyone else due to the fact that you guys started early. The other teams grumbled in annoyance as they watched you all leave the ship to go and enjoy yourselves while they escorted the bigger inmates.
  
  Grom wraped his arm around your shoulder as the two of you were walking back to base.
  
  "Alright, I said I would show you around and I'm a man of my word. No one will fuck with you while I'm around either."
  
  You laugh at that as the two of you enter the compound.
  
  Grom starts by showing you all the basic areas, like the mess hall, storage, weight room, lounge area and barracks. The rest of the pirates eye you a bit funny but just go back to what occupied them before your presence.
  
  "Oh yeah, I guess I should show you that room too." Grom nods towards a metal door that's partially open.
  
  "Remember to keep a open mind when walking in here." He warns as he pulls the door fully open for the two of you to enter.
  
  The smell immediately got to you, the smell of genitals. the walls were a cherry red and doors were aligned the walls like that of a prison block except with a much more recreational look to it all. Large wooden tables were strewn all over the room with metal cages sitting right in the middle of them. All sorts of species of women were inside the cages in skimpy clothing, dancing for the onlookers who took up the seats of the tables while hollering away at the dancers.
  
  You saw one or two pirates lead a women to one of the metal doors before pushing them inside and closing it tight once entering themselves.
  
  "Not really a fan of this place to be honest, I like women as much as the next guy but you never know where these slaves have been much less how many men they've been with. Much rather take my chances getting with another pirates." Grom states, rubbing his chin while examining the room.
  
  "You said something about them costing something earlier?"
  
  Grom is confused for a moment before nodding his head in rememberance.
  
  "Yeah to fuck a slave will cost you about half of a average pay check, though it's more or less up to what species your putting your penis into. Humans like yourself are the more expensive of them all due to their rarity."
  
  No attraction for you would be here, the whole room felt dirty and you didn't want to have to get used to that smell.
  
  "Yeah let's get out of here, I might vomit from this stench otherwise." You say to Grom who reopens the metal door for the two of you to step back out.
  
  "Well I think that's everything there is to show except for the rooms in the way back, but those are mostly for the workers and you'll rarely be there unless assigned. I'm going to go grab a beer in the rec room, wanna join?" Grom offers.
  
  You think about the offer but politely turn it down with the shake of a head. "I honestly just want to take a nap now that were off that ship, bit exhausted to tell you the truth."
  
  Grom laughs at that. "Don't worry you'll get used to it once you're deployed on Kane's ship enough times, I'll be seeing you in the morning then."
  
  Grom goes his separate way as you start walking back to the barracks in which Grom showed you earlier. You were actually kind of hoping that you would get some sort of assignment soon and that this break wouldn't last to long. Eager to get your feet wet you were ready to do anything as long as it wasn't busy work.
  
  Finding a vacant bunk towards the back of the barracks you pull yourself to the top bed and start to doze off into slumber.
  
  > Days Later
  Days went on as you got more used to base life. Grom showed you around to some more rooms that he had forgotten and introduced you to some of the pirates. Although Grom seemed to be the most sane one out of all of them. Most were the slave fuckers while others were bloodthirsty for more killing missions. You could tell that some of the pirates hated just for being human due to being completely ignored by some pirates in your barrack.
  
  As each day went on your desire for work grew stronger and stronger. Continually you would ask Grom if he knew of anything that would be planned and time after time he would say no. He did you give advice on checking the task board for odd jobs at the main hub though. These tasks always seemed to be taken quickly though, with it always being empty even though having heard that it was updated regularly. On your second visit to the task board a pirate passing through told you to not even bother. Apparently the slave fuckers camped the boards regularly in order to gain more income for their sexual needs.
  
  Knowing that the jobs wouldn't be worth of the trouble of camping, you quit on the decision to look for work there. Again you would just have to wait for work to pop up. Waited and waited you did until a full week later after your last visit to the task board was a new venture rumored.
  
  Grom had said that work rumors almost always turned out to be true so your hopes for a task were heightened. Just as predicated, Kane had summoned for all of his crew just a few days later. He seemed a lot more serious then he ever was though as he was about to talk to you all in your ships mess hall.
  
  "It seems as though the commanders of scout fleet that we ambushed are fairly unhappy with what we did. I have gotten word that a much bigger fleet is heading in this direction and will be expected to arrive in at least two years."
  
  This announcement from Kane starts to cause massive commotion and side conversation as everyone starts talking loudly.
  
  "Quiet!" He commands as the talking around you abruptly starts.
  
  "In order to prepare in advance for this invasion, we have decided that the best thing to do for now is start setting up outposts in the surrounding area in case our H.Q here gets spotted and bombarded. I will be taking volunteers now to help with establishing a outpost. I can take up to five. If you're deciding that this is something that you'd like to do then hurry and raise your hand because there won't be another chance to voulnteer.
  
  > join the outpost builders
  You'd have a much better chance to prove yourself if you were with a limited group of people. Besides this was probably the only work that you'd be seeing in awhile. You raise your hand as fast as you can as you're the first one to do so. Grom is surprised by this, but does so also but with a bit of hesitation. You see Kane give you a slight smile as the rest of the spots are filled afterwards.
  
  "Alright that's all that we need. I want the volunteers to report back on board the ship tonight for a better briefing on what we have planned. Everyone else is relived until further notice of a new assignment. Just know that it'll come soon in light of this recent news.
  
  As everyone starts to file out, Kane orders for you to stay. Grom looks at you for a moment before taking his leave with everyone else.
  
  "I'm really glad that you've chosen to voulnteer." he starts.
  
  "I was actually planning on making you lead one of the outpost parties that we have planned."
  
  You're ecstatic at this news but try your best not to show to much excitement.
  
  "Though I must say that I didn't really express the severity of our problem to the crew about the incoming invasion to not panic them too much. These outposts are extremely important and it's cruical that they get built and are up ans running as soon as possible. I trust that you'll be able to get this done without a hassle."
  
  You nod. "I'll get my outpost made as soon as it can be done and run it to perfection, you can count on me." You assure.
  
  He smiles at this as he lets you off soon after, you're greeted by Grom outside the messhall.
  
  "Man I'm having a weird feeling about this whole job, I only joined with you to make sure you don't do anything stupid. Kane is a very self orientated type of guy, you need to remember that." Grom warns.
  
  "Trust me I know that, but don't you have any dreams of doing something more? Of being more than just a grunt."
  
  Grom seems to think this over.
  
  "Well maybe sometimes but for now I'm content with my pay and the occasional raid for entertainment. But if this whole outpost thing turns in our favor then I guess I would be wrong."
  
  "Trust me, it's going to turn out in our favor."
  
  Months later
  
  Only a single year remained until the arrival of the colonists. The outpost that you had been assigned to build in the desert has grown into something that you could be proud of. You were put in charge of ten men that included Grom but made him second in command.
  
  You were able to wipe out the nearby native settlement, though the men were a little too bloodthirsty during their raids. That just assured that you wouldn't need to worry about anymore of those savages any more though.
  
  Kane came to checkup on the progress of it all and seemed impressed with what you had accomplished. Quickly you were able to mount walls and shacks with the help of native slaves that were captured in the last few raids before you wiped them from the desert. They were a little resistance at first, Grom did a good job at putting them in their place though as they became much more submissive to your liking.
  
  Your outpost felt like your own little castle with you being King. Your freedom to do what you want was pretty limitless as long as your outpost was to the expectations of Kane.
  
  It seemed that the morale back at H.Q had improved tremendously too. It seemed as if though the payment to use the women in the special rooms had been removed for about a months time. Though they were reinstated due too the horrible conditions the women were put under making their attractiveness diminish to such a low point that they there rumors of just executing all of them to just put them out of their misery and capturing a new batch of women to replace them afterwards.
  
  There were also larger raids and attacks on the natives. It seemed as though it made the men feel powerful once again with them being on top over the lowly scum that were before them. All of this was a diversion of course, as the commanders continued to think of a solution for the looming day of invasion.
  
  You already had your own plans though. If the situation really turned out as bad as some predicted such as Grom, then you would defect with your outpost and men to make your own faction with you and Grom sharing power. He had proved to be a valuable ally so far and you really couldn't handle some situations without his help and guidance. Grom was also completely for this backup plan and was preparing more for the defection then you were.
  
  Surely it would go without revenege for the pirates as they would be to busy dealing with the invaders rather than having time to deal with one defecting outpost.
  
  You just needed to hold out and not do anything stupid until the colonists made their landing.
  
  > Year
  The arrival of the colonists was announced just as it was predicted. The outposts had grown tremendously, with your own number of pirates quadrupling in size. It never really was announced or said that you achieved such a high rank. Pirates just started treating you with much more respect and other captains started looking up to you a bit as you had one of the more better outposts. It was ironically because you were planning on revolting soon that your base was the most prized in the faction. All the other outpost commanders were content with staying in the faction so never really had the motivation to expand to the extent that you did.
  
  It seemed due to the fact that the pirates thought they would be winning the war. Mainly due to multiple reinforcements still arriving on planet from their home world and the promise from commanders that their own home world fleet would be arriving to back the pirates up. Grom said that this information was all horseshit though. The main reason that this planet had so many newcomers was because the home world of the pirates was embroiled in a deep war with another neighboring planet over the control of trade routes and the ever increasing slave industry that was making Groms species a despised one as they were the main ring leaders in the industry in their planet system. With the amount of conscription and insane death tolls, this planet was a way to escape all that. The fleet that was supposedly supposed to arrive would no doubt be non existent or to small to prove any real effect with the political events that were already plaguing their home. The pirates would lose there was no doubt about it. Earthen nations were already in peaceful coexistence with the rapid global modernization that happened decades earlier. Eyes were now on colonization and the numerous amount of fleets docked at both Fukon and Earth would continue to try for this planet even if the incoming invasion were to fail. Humans would leave their footprint on this planet and make it their bitch.
  
  There was no stopping it and all you could worry about was continuing to upgrade your base defenses to the point in which all the other outpost commanders hated you in jealousy from all the praise you garnered and expectations you raised. Unfortunately because your outpost was so praised and prized, it had frequent visits from various pirate commanders in hope of using it as a fallback position if it came to it. Grom had even scolded you at one point for making it so perfect in a half joking manner.
  
  Nevertheless Grom said he would take care of that situation when it came to it, he just wanted you to continue with the expansions of the defenses in preparation for the loss of the imminent war for the pirates. Weeks later Holy fuck the situation was more fucked then you or Grom had expected. The colonists had found out that your faction was responsible for the attack on the scout fleet somehow. Because of that, you were the prime target in their invasion as your H.Q was reduced to rubble in a matter of days. Gas was dropped on multiple outposts in which the effects plagued your nightmares for days
  
  . It turned the skin pink like a pig and made it as soft as melting butter. It didn't even seem to trigger shock in it's victims as they screamed in agonizing pain as they spent their final moments writhing all over the floor in where they got hit.
  
  Some of the pirates were lucky enough to only have parts of their limbs affected but even then they became mute with the affected areas of their bodies becoming shriveled and dry like that of a raisin or prune. The gas masks didn't even seem to be working as even thick clothing wasn't stopping the affects from reaching the skin. The only real solution was to hide underground until the gas attacks had ceased. The incoming refugees that you once feared and prepared for weren't even a problem. There were no refugees, three fourths of the pirates were either wiped out while the rest had already deserted. You and one other outpost had bothered to build underground and in the end that ended up saving your life. Any pirates who were trying to escape through space seemed to be immediately shot down while leaving the atmosphere or end up being obliterated by the space patrols that were now patrolling the entire planet as it seemed.
  
  You had around fifty men at your disposable and they were all scared shitless. You ended up losing contact with the other surviving outpost a few days ago while your men and you spent more and more time underground. Grom didn't even know what the fuck to do at this point either, which scared you more than you already were. Your faction was being hunted to extinction from the planet, with Grom's species in doubt being a kill on sight one.
  
  There had only been a few colonist landings so far, though they were much, much farther away from any of the blast zones. It seemed as if though the rest of the landing parties were waiting for the bombardments to end as you also were.
  
  The day that the shellings did end came to much relief to you, it was starting to turn everyone crazy from staying underground for too long. Though some of your men were much more reluctant to even go above ground.
  
  Nothing but rubble was seen where your old base used to be after the last shelling. It seemed that they focused all their attack efforts on yours as they left nothing left. Either that meant that you were the only remaining resistance left to crush or something about you seemed special. You had been smart enough to hide your ships somewhere else in the nearby mountains after the first gas attack knowing your position was already compromised to more attacks.
  
  You were lucky enough to have all your food stores, weapons and ATVs stored underground with the order given by Grom who knew they were in danger of being destroyed. Your mind and soul was in complete devastation however at all the years of hard work that was now gone due to these fuckers.
  
  You would be getting your fucking revenge and everyone else was feeling it too, especially Grom. Fortunately for you, the humans most likely assumed that you were all killed in their assault.
  
  "Were going to take these fuckers down." Grom hissed through his teeth as he examined all the blackened rubble.
  
  You were really hoping that Kane had somehow survived through all this, if anyone were able too it would be him. You would kill for his leadership right now as you were starting to doubt yours. These men still looked up to you though as you had to rebuild what you had lost.
  
  You made way for more expansion underground as that's where you would be building from now on. You sent a few scouts too the mountains in order to give the information of the next drop down that was expected to be somewhere close by.
  
  Days later
  
  The colonists had finally landed with the reports from your scouts coming in. In that time you've been able to clean up some of the wreckage and salvage anything that could from your destroyed outpost. You had your men immediately prepare for a assault on the closest colony that was near you. Mainly because you really needed a morale booster and any equipment that you could salvage would be essential in your future survival.
  
  It was then so that you rode out with your remaining men with air support right behind you to raid the colony outpost that had only been landed for a couple of days.
  
  > Raid party
  Your air support came in first, fucking up a lot of their structures as they let missiles fly randomly into the colony. Alarms blared loudly throughout the sky as your own squad rode in with it's ATV's, gunning down any of the remaining guards that didn't get obliterated in the missile fire. The colonists that had been working outside starting running around screaming in terror as they were pretty much defenseless against your incoming party. Some of your men even took to start their rape of women right in the open once they managed to get their hands on them. You had to kick a few of them of the women and remind them that they were still in danger with new guards coming out of their barracks, ready to defend the colony to the last man.
  
  Your own men took up defensive positions across debris that lay randomly all over the outpost. A couple of your ships let down their ramps as men on turrets started firing down on the guards for extra fire support to aid you. It proved to be more than enough to help you as more casualties were inflicted on the guards that still decided to keep fighting even with their lowering numbers.
  
  It didn't take much longer after that too kill off the remaining colonists as some of the ships in their possession started to flee away while some of your ships tried their best to shoot them down with some success.
  
  Your men cheered in victory at the what they had accomplished as they started raiding the colonist barracks to reap their rewards.
  
  You on the other hand started to survey around the colony in order to find whatever you could that would help you in your future fights. Grom was able to find a stash of power suits and other goodies that would prove to be priceless for you and your men.
  
  The future looked good for you, and as you heard the sounds of woman screaming in terror while your men screamed in pleasure, the future also looked good for your faction.
  
  A pirates life for me Ending.