Bad Person

The converted space shuttle, now resembling the Avanguardia, a 137-meter swan-shaped mega yacht concept designed by Pierpaolo Lazzarini, cruised along the coast of Madagascar. Having traveled over 9,000 nautical miles non-stop, its engines, capable of light-speed travel, made distance trivial.

The ship's barriers ensured that even the mightiest waves left the pool deck undisturbed. Alex slowed the yacht and stopped in open waters near Madagascar to let the bored child play.

On the deck, Alex reclined under the sun, fishing rod in hand. Nearby, Eira and the feathered serpent, now named Quetzal by Arwen, chased seagulls in playful laughter. The once-small creature had grown to nearly a meter in length, its feathery body now fluffier than before.

"Daddy, a boat is coming!" Eira's small hands shook Alex as she landed beside him, dragging Quetzal by the tail.

"Okay, yeah, put the poor snake down first."

"Oh, yeah, sorry." Eira stuck out her tongue before releasing Quetzal. The snake rolled its eyes in a strikingly human manner before darting below deck toward Arwen.

Alex lifted Eira into his arms and commanded the computer, "Show me the visual scan of the incoming vessel."

A holographic display flickered to life, revealing a fishing vessel slightly larger than the yacht, its deck crowded with armed men carrying high-caliber firearms and shoulder-fired missiles.

"Bad person," Eira commented, frowning at the images.

"Simulate a U.S. destroyer in international waters, 15 nautical miles away," Alex ordered.

"Yes, Commander," the yacht's AI confirmed. A drone shot out from the vessel's side, vanishing at maximum speed. Fifteen nautical miles away, a fully rendered illusion of the USS Halsey (DDG-97) materialized, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.

Alex instructed the yacht computer to sail close and parallel to the illusionary warship. The pirate boat continued its approach, still unaware.

"Boss, this is a big fish. Look at that yacht!" A wiry man grinned.

"Must be a billion-dollar haul at least," a stocky African man laughed, patting an RPG beside him. "If we threaten them with this, even if they're armed, they won't dare fire back. Five shots of this baby and they're fish food."

Their captain, a bald old man clad in a worn military uniform, chuckled, puffing on a cigar. A known menace in Madagascar and Somali waters, his name was whispered in fear among shipping crews.

"Haha! Catch up, boys. We'll be rolling in money again." The captain laughed and headed for his cabin.

Meanwhile, on the yacht, Alex examined the holographic destroyer. "Looks very real. Can it fire real rounds?" he asked the computer.

"Yes, Commander. It can manufacture and fire any of the following; six ship-to-ship missiles, five anti-aircraft missiles, and five land-attack missiles before running out of energy," the AI responded dutifully.

"Is that so? Interesting." Alex grinned maliciously.

Back on the pirate boat, a frantic crew member banged on the captain's quarters.

"Fuck! What is it? How many times do I have to tell you lot not to disturb? I was fucking close!" the captain snarled, grabbing the man by the neck. Behind him, a messy bed held three disheveled women.

"Warship, boss," the man gasped for air.

The captain released him, hurriedly put on his pants, and bolted for the bridge. He raised his binoculars, and when his eyes landed on the destroyer, he cursed.

Grabbing a satellite phone, he dialed frantically. The moment the call connected, he growled, "Why the fuck is there a U.S. warship in my waters without any notice?"

"Calm down," a voice on the other end replied. "We don't know about any deployment in that area. Give me the ship's designation, and I'll check and contact them."

"Bullshit! Like hell I'm getting closer to check! They must've spotted us tracking that yacht!" The captain gritted his teeth. "If I go down, I'm taking your name with me."

He slammed the phone down. "Fuck! Change course! Hide the weapons! Use the Madagascar dialect on the radio! Move!"

His men scrambled, stowing firearms and altering their trajectory.

On the yacht, Alex watched them turn tail. "Arm all missiles. Prepare to fire."

"Yes, Commander."

"Hey baby, you see this red button? Press it after counting to ten," Alex instructed the child in his arms.

"Okay~" Eira happily counted her numbers.

The pirate captain sighed in relief as their vessel veered away, seeing no pursuers. Then, a slight disturbance in the air caught his ear. He turned just in time to see six missiles streaking toward them.

"Oh, Sh—"

A blinding explosion engulfed the ship, leaving nothing but flaming wreckage.

"Target neutralized, Commander."

"Wow~"

Alex chuckled. "More like obliterated. Maintain the hologram in escort formation."

"Understood."

That evening, Alex sat at the dinner table with Lily, Arwen, and Eira.

"Is there a problem with the ship?" Arwen asked.

"Nah, just a small shrimp."

"How's my cooking?" she pressed, eyes expectant.

"Much better than high-end restaurants. It's my wife's, after all." Alex grinned, savoring a bite of lobster tail.

"Pfft, I made that one." Lily laughed, her tiny figure holding a fried squid ring.

Alex froze mid-bite. "Oh. Uh, all the same." He quickly scooped more food onto his plate.

Arwen rolled her eyes but served him more of her dishes personally.

"Uh, wait, my plate's full. Give some to Eira too."

"Finish all of it, okay, dear?" Arwen smiled sweetly.

"Absolutely. How could I not?" Alex chuckled awkwardly.

"Mom, I'm done. I want cake!" Eira beamed at Arwen.

"Of course, baby gets what she wants." Arwen lovingly stroked her hair before retrieving slices of cake from storage.

Eira selected chocolate and strawberry flavors and happily ate while watching cartoons.

The meal was peaceful. The yacht continued sailing straight towards Asia.