Mortal Protection Services Chapter 44: XI.TSMBS: The Storm Maiden's Battle Shanty

Read chapter 44 of Mortal Protection Services by B.T.Skull on NovelPedia.

XI.TSMBS: The Storm Maiden's Battle Shanty Leia Amish Papacies Bridge "I swear, I'm gonna sleep like the dead if I survive until tonight." Uncle Ingamar said as he walked onto his bridge. He came to an abrupt halt when he noticed my incomplete 'setup' on his bridge. "Leia, what the fuck is that?" "Two turn tables and a microphone." "And why did you build it into the middle of my already cramped bridge?" He frowned. "Also when did you do this? I've been gone like twenty minutes?" I used the welding torch he hadn't noticed yet to finish affixing my new seat for this station to the floor, and flipped up my welding mask. "Well... I'm almost finished installing it now. So I did it now. I thought you'd be longer!" "Mmhmm... I assume my ship still works. You wouldn't be that stupid. Helm, take us out." Ensign Astley followed his order and we started moving toward where the battle would take place. I kept at my work getting the station working... in a hurry. "Anyhow, I thought we should be able to switch battle tempo on the fly, because keeping the same tempo for a whole song's duration seems like a recipe for getting caught out. The Scourge is hungry, not stupid." Uncle Ingamar sat in his captain's chair and sighed, "I agree, but permission first next time child... I swear, if we weren't going right into the shit you'd be getting far worse than an earful. Activate the Gaian stealth Algorithm, and take us there at warp one, we have plenty of time. That station better be working by time we're in battle, or I'm sending your ass back to the SAMWISE." "It will. It will!" I was pretty sure it would be, and I was right. I had it online and working a full twenty seconds before we got to where Lt Commander Berlin said was the optimum location to trigger a warp interdiction field. AND we still had more than five minutes until the scourge masses started dropping out. Ingamar was worried for nothing. "So explain to me how the scourge almost got the drop on us?" Uncle Captain Ingamar said. "Well, they seem to be able to slip out of the warp bubble without popping it..." I realized he wasn't talking to to me a few words into speaking, but I was right, and I knew what I was talking about, so I just talked while I spun up Ride of the Valkyries to set the mood. "They don't have to go the whole distance the warp bubble would take them to the bubble's destination. Looks like ALL the skin from the planet is coming back to fight us. We might want to get the Vaggigablaster warming up and aimed this way... sir." "Thanks Leia ." He seemed to consider chastising me more, but we both knew it wouldn't have done any good. "Good pre-battle music choice, by the way. Solid ancient classic. Jimmi, you hear that? Warm up your... spinal gun." "Captain Jimsonson isn't on the bridge, something about Luke and the three-assed creatures... Vaggigablaster warming." Came the reply from Aunt Jimmi's Weapon's officer. "Roger." Ingamar looked at me for an explanation, but I had no idea what that was about, so I shrugged and looked back at my station. I'd built all the Captain's chair information into my new mixmaster station. Did I have permission for that? No, not exactly but so what? I wanted the info. It was important for the DJ to know what's going on, right? All gunners ready, all loaders ready. All oarsmen at the ready. Engineer-cum-Coxswain Suwami reported ready. He'd refused the cool new title I tried to give him, 'Strokemaster', because he's the one keeping the rowers strokes in time. He'd be making the personal level adjustments in timing. 'Jenkins you're ahead of the beat,' stuff like that. He insisted on being called the coxswain, like that's any better than Strokemaster. Anyhow I was the shanty caller and DJ for this dance, also ready. I queued the music for an ancient sea shanty, 'Haul Away Joe', by the Longest Johns, and prepared to belt out the words only I had known before we'd started training. Now, the whole crew sang along. Most of them hadn't even known wh