Blackfire was having the time of her life, she felt strangely cathartic leading a slave army against hordes of crazed space pirates, all she was missing now is a warhorse to ride into battle, she suppose the creature she was riding on now will do. The blue skinned alien she mounted was one of the biggest slaves on the ship, because of his massive size the pirates had kept his limbs bounded in iron chains while his neck was secured by a shock collar as a precaution. The slaves called him Big Blu for obvious reasons they kept him around for heavy lifting and carrying their cargo. Judging by the numerous elongated scars on his light blue skin he had received the same treatment as the others, he may have been abused for either their disturbed amusement or punished for acts of defiance. Blackfire chose the former, pirates preferred to break their prisoners first before selling them off as obedient dogs at the highest bidder, it made her angry to think about it, not because of the suffering the slaves endured since it wasn't her problem, but that these pirates thought to make her cowed and submissive to their buyer's demands, they dare to commit such a heinous crime against Tamaran's Royal Bloodline. She will punish these fools for their arrogance, a gruesome death Is what these filthy lizardmen deserve. She could hear it now, the cheers from the prisoners she so graciously saved, mixed in with the pleading pirates as they burned in her beautiful violet flames.
She didn't think the blue giant would mind her hitching a ride on his back, he certainly seemed preoccupied with crushing any stupid idiot who dared stood in his path. If Blackfire was being honest with herself, she didn't think her little army of slaves with zero combat experience would stand a chance against fully armed pirates, but she failed to take into account how truly fucking stupid these pirates are. They lacked organization or any real training, they were more like kids playing with toy guns, what were the prerequisites when hiring these buffoons? Pirates never really had high standards, you only had to hold a gun and look menacing and they could barely do that right. Both parties here are complete idiots in her opinion, the slaves for actually being caught by these jokers aside from her that is.
Although She had more respect for the slaves because one, they're actually putting up more of a fight, two was because she's in charge and that alone gave her a sense of pride, she was the one to inspire these savages to fight. She was impressed with some of them being able to use shivs with practiced ease, aiming for soft areas on the body like the neck and the eye, the slaves fighting barehanded attacked in groups overwhelming the lizard men with sheer numbers, Beating them into a bloody paste. Pirates armed with shock staffs managed to keep more ravenous slaves at bay but it was short lived when they were struck from behind, having their eyes slashed out by nails and claws.
Even the beaten girls from earlier were taking part in the uprising, plucking guns off the floor and shooting anything that resembled a lizard, one girl used all her weigh to tackle a heavier guard to the ground while clutching a shiv in her hand. Blackfire winced when she saw where the girl began to stab repeatedly , let's just say she knew that pirate intimately enough to target the weakest part of the male anatomy.
'You go girl, get your hits back.' Blackfire cheered her on mentally.
The sight of their crewmates being slaughtered would make any pirate feel queasy, it was kinda pathetic to watch their so called wardens flee from their own prisoners. She suppose the slaves deserved a little payback however, she knew how it felt to be driven from your home planet and into an unknown universe. Not to mention the constant torment they were pushed through by the pirates, they didn't appear too well fed either and that by itself is the worst decision any pirate could make. Whoever did so will definitely lose their job along with their lives. Even kidnappers had to follow a set of rules when owning another equally intelligent life form, one is having good restraints, two is watching them instead of trying to get a good fuck, and the third was very simple yet crucial.
Feed Them.
It doesn't have to be a five star meal, just feed them. Why? Blackfire will let the dead Pirate on the far right side be used as an example, a small green skinned creature with a deranged smile on it's face was biting into the lizard's man's flesh, ripping a chunk from his neck. Blackfire felt a shiver run down her spine, good thing she was on the right side, she placed her attention on the guard Big Blu scooped off the ground, his screams were muffled as the giant's massive hand gripped his entire head, and with a simple twist like someone screwing off the lid of a jar, the guard's head was removed from his shoulders.
Yep, Blackfire liked being on the winning side.
Blackfire leapt down from the monstrosity and landed in a crouch, this fight would come to a close soon and although the slaves had the element of surprise the tide could change for either side, best to make her exit before shit hits the fan. She stood up and sauntered through the carnage, moving aside to make way for charging slaves and ducking her head casually to miss blaster fire, the key to warfare is to make yourself an unnoticeable target, the guards would be more focused on the aliens going berserk in front of them rather than a calm maiden walking through the horde. It wasn't always effective as she thought, since one of the Lizard men spotted her in the frenzy, the pirate probably deemed her an easy mark and brought his shock staff in position then rushed towards her.
Without sparing a single glance, Blackfire lifted her hand as black energy flowed to her palm, configuring into an orb of purple light before flying freely. The energy blast shot through armor and flesh leaving behind an opening in the pirate's chest. The energy blast traveled piercing an unaware slave in his back then ending it's journey within a guard's head. Two guards witnessed this display, their minds reprioritizing the primary threat among the riot. The guards never had the chance to act on it when two hands caught their throats in a fierce hold, both could only struggle as Blackfire squeezed tightly until a loud crunch signaled their windpipes being crushed. The ex-princess threw the bodies to the side, she spun around to fire a black bolt at the guard attempting to strike her with his shock staff. Only for the pirate to jump into the air like some demented acrobat, performing a flip over the bolt in a move worthy of a hunter.
Or at least it would have been if he hadn't misjudged his trajectory and land straight into the rioting crowd of prisoners, likely seeing the pirate's failed attack the prisoners decided to exploit his moment of stupidity and beat the crap out of him. Blackfire paused to watch with a deadpan expression then exploded into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.
Her laughter died an ugly death when a laser grazed her gorgeous face.
Somehow, the single laser shot managed to bring the fighting around her to an abrupt halt. Even Big Blu stopped in his rampage, right when he was ready to rip a guard in half, the pirates and slaves looked towards a tall humanoid lizard with a long scaly tail, spikes protruded from the side of his head while a scar covered his eye, he wore a black spandex suit ornamented with red plates around the chest and legs, red greaves around his wrist and large red pauldrons on his shoulders. The creature held a laser pistol in his dominant hand while his other held a plasma sword emitting purple energy.
"I thought I'd be looking for a seasoned warrior on the frontlines, killing my crew one by one." The Pirate Captain said arrogance filling his tone. "I considered them Worthy of crossing blades with the mighty Captain Thane. Instead I find a girl playing pretend."
Blackfire turned, her eyes scanning the peasant who harmed her. She sized him up accordingly, he was skilled and more intelligent than his crew, his stance holding finesse and grace.
"Your sword matches my outfit, " Blackfire gestured to the hard light blade. "I can't wait to take it from your smoking corpse." To the Lizard man's credit, he kept his expression neutral.
"I knew collecting a bounty on a Tamaranean would be troublesome, your people were always stubborn folk." The Lizard huffed, shrugging off her threat. "Oh well, they said to bring you in alive, they didn't specify in what condition." the lizard grinned ferally. "Its been awhile since I had my own toy to play with, it could get lonely aboard the Shadow Death."
"That's what you call this floating trash heap?" Blackfire snickered, her hand slapping on her hip. "How original, you're a real comic book villain. Do you have your own evil laugh as well? I rather hear the sounds of your meek cries."
"You will show respect on this ssship, cur!" The Lizard hissed. "There was a woman like you, couldn't stop running her pretty mouth, never learned to stop talking back to her masters. She squealed like a pig when I had the boys here hold her down as I cut her tongue out, shame too, real smooth and slick." The boss smirked cruelly, the pirates in the crowd throwing in jeers and taunts.
"Are you going to make me do the same to you? I would hate it if I didn't have the chance to try it."
"I find it hilarious how you brag about sex that you've never earned naturally. Can't blame you though, if I were as repulsive as any of you I'd probably be wandering the galaxy too searching for anyone to just give me one pity-fuck." The pirates recoiled at the bluntness of her statement, she wasn't making fun of them, she was telling them the truth. Attracting a male or female took confidence and a bit of charisma, these guys had none of the above only a desperate need to have their urges tended to with or without consent, she'd bet all the credits in her pocket that they only sold the males. "Please don't tell me you expected to be dashing rouges, stealing the hearts of married women everywhere? It's good to have unattainable dreams like that, I'm sure it gets you out of bed in the morning." Blackfire's laughter returned with a vengeance.
The observers around them had suddenly gasped.
From their point of view the Captain along with his blade had teleported to Blackfire's location, the blade was moving at blinding speeds beyond normal capabilities to her exposed throat the impending hit would've sent Blackfire's head rolling across the floor. But If The Captain had teleported , it would mean Blackfire's hand had already been in position to catch the Captain's wrist.
In Blackfire's point of view however, the Captain had simply moved at a jogger's pace, giving her all the time in the world to react. How? Because every person on this ship were nothing but civvies. The slaves? Civvies, The Pirates? Civvies with weapons, The Captain? Above Average Civie. Blackfire was above them on the leaderboards because she is what you call a Super, people who've surpassed the limitations of a Civie. She was never in any danger, Sure, the Captain was more skilled than his followers but that would imply the presence of skill in the crew to begin with. The terror in the captain's eyes indicated he realized that far too late, his gun hand moved to aim at her head, Blackfire casually flicked her hand to the side managing to smack the gun from his grip, the same hand clutched the pirate's throat. The captain fought in her hold yet his efforts were that of a tempered child fighting off their mother's grip.
"So you said something about a Bounty?" Blackfire raised an eyebrow, feeling more curious than exerted at the moment, she could hold him all day if she wanted, but the sweat mixing in with his scales made her wish she wouldn't have to.
"L-let me go and I'll tell you!" The Lizard pleaded as he tried pulling away from her iron grip, going so far as to snap at her.
"Not happening," Blackfire rolled her eyes applying enough pressure on his wrist to make him drop his weapon. "Your survival depends on your compliance, tell me who set the price on my head."
Exhausting all his options, the Captain did the smart thing and submitted. Blackfire felt a short wave of pleasure at that moment, she enjoyed dominating her opponents for the simple fact that it was fun. People always gained satisfaction in victory whether it's succeeding in a friendly competition or pummeling your opponent in a street fight.
"The Tamaranean Queen, Koriand'r, She's the one who set twenty million credits on your head!"
"My sister?!" Blackfire's eyes ignited in purple flames, the Captain flinching away from the wave of heat. "That condescending bitch exiled me and now all of a sudden she wants me back? No way in hell I'm going back to that family!"
"G-good for you? Look, I told you what you want to know, now could you please leave my ship? The slaves can go with you if you wish, we'll take our business elsewhere."
Blackfire stared.
The Captain stared back.
Blackfire gave the Captain an enchanting smile sending a surge of fear through him, it wasn't the smile that placed the fear of god into him, it was the malevolent energy pouring from her sockets.
Two purple beams pierced the Captain's head.
The pirates looked on in absolute horror watching their captain fall to the ground lifeless, they soon switched their focus on his killer and without a hint of hesitation they dropped to their knees. The prisoners cheered in victory, pumping their acquired weapons in the air. Blackfire ignored it for now her mind clouded by questions, Did her sister want her back? No, Kori despised her existence, there must be something bigger going in the kingdom for her to call her back, she hoped that tramp was dealing with a civil war. Maybe she wanted to execute her for disgracing their species with her deeds across the galaxy, It wouldn't be a surprise that Kori knew about her reputation, she didn't become Queen by sitting on her ass, she had connections that stretched far. Meaning that Kori could call in some big hitters and with twenty million credits on the line it won't be long either until every Bounty Hunter in the system will come looking for her. She needed to stay low, she didn't expect for this to blow over but the tension may die down if given time. She could probably hide behind these pirates as their captain--"
"Reinforcements are coming!" A voice belonging to a young pirate alerted. The entirety of the passengers gazed outside the reinforced window, looking to the depths of space.
Golden Light spiraled in one place, expanding into a large portal, a long golden ship shaped like a trident's head, the middle being the hull while two wings were attached to it's sides. The golden ship dwarfed their own, the same went for the massive cannons under it's wings.
"That's not a Slaver's ship." Blackfire declared pushing aside anyone who got in her way, now that she had a better look, she's never seen a ship with a design like that before neither did the slaves judging by their confused looks.
Blackfire understood one thing though...whoever they are hadn't come in peace.