Chapter 73: Cooper and Bonnie

"Talk Cooper." Admiral Dexter said angrily as he looked down at Cooper who was sitting in front of a table while being handcuffed to the chair he sat on.

"And why would I do that sir." Cooper responded.

The last thing Cooper remembered before waking up in this room handcuffed to a chair was opening fire as the inner airlock on the Slingshot opened before he saw a blinding light and a high pitched sound.

He had tried to look around and determine where he was but he could not see anything and could only feel that he was sitting in a chair with something around his wrists and legs that prevented him from moving much. It didn't take much to figure out that he must have been knocked unconscious with a shock pellet before being captured and brought here.

After a while he heard the sound of a door sliding open as someone walked in and once the person spoke he instantly recognised the voice as his former boss Admiral Dexter.

"We both know you're going to get the death penalty for what you did and there is no helping that, however by talking you can at least make it a quick painless death instead of a long agonizing one." Admiral Dexter replied.

"And what do you gain from my talking? It's not like you plan to put Bonnie on trial, so it's not like you need my confession as evidence against her." Cooper replied sarcastically.

Admiral Dexter sighed as he pulled out the chair on the opposite side of the table before he sat down and said, "While it is most likely she won't allow herself to be taken alive, we don't know that for sure and are trying to cover all bases, also we need to know how long this has been going on and if I'm being honest I want to know why someone I saw such potential in and even recommended for promotion would do this."

"Fine." Cooper said with a sigh before adding, "I suppose it's the least I can do since you have been good to me and supported me, also to make it a quick and easy death."

"It started not long after I joined the defence force. I was approached by some shady individuals who hinted at some things, however at the time I was just out of training with my head full of duty and honour so I warned them off and left."

"Months went by and I didn't advance at all in the defence force even though I worked my ass off, whenever it looked like I was about to gain a promotion someone else would suddenly pull off a great deed like capturing or killing a wanted pirate and therefore steal the promotion from me."

"After a while I got suspicious as this was happening far to frequently and so started to dig around, that's when those same shady individuals from before approached me again and mocked me for having the promotions stolen from right in-front of me."

"As I was about to retort they threw a data drive on the ground in front of me before leaving while saying 'if you want that promotion, use that.'"

"I was hesitant but my curiosity got the better of me and so I took the data drive and checked it when I got home. It indicated the precise location of where a highly wanted pirate would be in the next twelve hours."

"Naturally I could have handed the data drive to my superiors and explained how I got it, but the gloating looks of those who got promoted ahead of me and the taunts of the shady group kept ringing in my ears and so I decided not to hand the data drive over and instead capture the pirate myself."

"I altered the patrol route that I was scheduled to do the next day slightly so that it would take me near the coordinates at the specified time and to my surprise the wanted pirates ship was actually there waiting in space behind one of Palaxia's moons as if waiting for something."

"In my excitement and greed for glory I acted and because I caught him completely off guard I managed to quickly disable his ship without issue before boarding it. Naturally he didn't come quietly and we got into a firefight which I eventually won by killing him."

"Upon return of the pirate's corpse I was congratulated on a job well done by my superiors and given the promotion that I had desired for so long, when they asked how I found the pirate I just put it down to good luck."

"Several months went by after that and nothing unexpected happened so I pushed the thought of what happened to the back of my mind and got on with my life until one day a pirate named Bonnie appeared before me."

"The same Bonnie that is the current pirates boss?" Admiral Dexter asked.

"Yes, though at this time she was just a low level pirate working on another pirate's ship, though she had big dreams and ideas of making a name for herself." Cooper continued.

"Bonnie approached me and offered me a deal that would benefit us both, she would give me the locations of wanted pirates that stood in her way of climbing higher while I gained reputation and promotions from taking them down."

"Even though my greed and desire to rise higher in the ranks wanted me to accept her deal I was initially sceptical of her offer, however she left me little choice after showing me evidence that could prove I had lied to my superiors about how I had found the other pirate and that I had in fact worked with pirates."

"Given the fact that she had evidence that could prove I had worked with pirates in the past, I reluctantly agreed and so started our cooperation."

"Over the years Bonnie gave me the location of where I would find wanted pirates or somehow managed to alter their flight routes so they would pass by my patrol routes."

"I started to gain a reputation as a successful pirate hunter in the defence force and Bonnie rose higher and higher in the ranks of the pirates around Palaxia even gaining her own ship and crew."

"As she grew more powerful and richer I demanded my cut since it was I who was doing all the hard work and putting my life on the line to apprehend the pirates."

"Eventually I became vice-admiral and she became the boss of all the pirates in the space around Palaxia."

"What about the base? How did she manage to build that without anyone noticing?" Admiral Dexter asked.

"When I asked for my cut, Bonnie agreed but with the stipulation that I altered or removed certain reports and data logs that showed transport vessels carrying construction materials and base supplies entering Palaxia space and heading towards the asteroid field."

"It took a few years since she could only risk bringing in the transports every few months even with me doing my bit, but eventually she managed to build a base on one of the larger asteroids."

"Since then pirates from all over this sector of space have started to use it as a re-supply depot along with selling off any merchandise they acquired."

"Which explains the increase of pirate activity around Palaxia over the last year." Admiral Dexter replied to which Cooper just nodded before continuing.

"If I hadn't been using my authority to view and alter the logs and reports coming in before they ended up on your desk then you would have launched an operation against the pirates a long time ago. In fact it was already reaching the limit of what I could do to prevent you from ordering a special mission with the Mercenary Hall."

"However you suddenly decided to put in a good word for me after my excellent service with the higher ups which got the attention of someone in the imperial family and I was about to be promoted and transferred out of this sector of the Sandanar Galaxy, when that happened I wouldn't care what happened to Bonnie."

"A mistake on my part it seems." Admiral Dexter replied before asking, "What can you tell me about the bases defensive capabilities?"

"limited from what I know, even I couldn't cover up the arrival and transport of base class weapons into Palaxia space. She mainly relied on the fact that the base was so well hidden and no one on Palaxia knew about it, though they do seem to have taken some laser cannons, ballistic repeaters and rocket pods from some ships and mounted them around the base."

"How did she manage to keep the base a secret for so long? I mean pirates around these parts aren't exactly known for their secretive nature."

"Even pirates want some space they can relax off ship and feel relatively safe without having to worry about any bounty hunters or security personnel recognizing them. It was actually quite easy to get them to keep quiet once you explained that if they talked then the base would cease to exist along with them and their families."