Diversion

Several light years away, the Jadespear starship speeds towards the Cancri system from Pegasi. The planets orbiting Cancri were well known to possess vast quantities of untapped natural resources especially minerals used in microcircuitry and fossil fuels, which were still used to power machines on the surface of barren moons. In fact, despite the development of efficient fusion reactors and even crude versions of zero-point energy regulators, the demand for extraterrestrial fossil fuels was huge. There was once only one crew onboard but now there are two - one made up of battle-hardened pirates and one made up of mostly frightened captured scientists that believed they were on a survey mission.

“I’m surprised that they’re actually allowing us to move about the ship freely.” Harlington said. “Big mistake on their part.”

“It took a lot of convincing just to get them to do that, Peter.” Replied Dr. Rhone. “Don’t screw it up.”

“Don’t screw it up?” He leans in closer to her and lowers his voice to a whisper. “These are pirates, Jennifer. You think they’re letting us move about because they’re being kind? What really scares me is that they’re up to something big. We lost 8 people in that goddamn attack and I don’t even think they really wanted those 8 dead.”

“I know. Luca and Theo didn’t deserve this. They were practically children right out of college, but we can’t do something silly and get ourselves killed. Someone must survive this and notify their families as well as the families of the 6 technicians killed. Let them know what really happened. If they wanted us dead, they’d just kill us. We need to behave so they continue to let us move around the forward part of the vessel and above deck five.”

“Yeah…they’re keeping us away from the most vital system, but I’ve got a plan. Just sit tight.”

“Peter…”

“We have an obligation to try and escape Jen.”

“We have an obligation to stay alive so that escape means something. We are outnumbered and outgunned. We’re not fighters. Our only hope is to go along with whatever it is that they have planned until we’re rescued.”

“You’re wrong, Jen. I’m a fighter. I’ve been a fighter my whole life and I’m not stopping now.”

“You might have been in your youth, but you’re older now and literally blind in one eye after the attack. If you fight them, you might get hurt or get the rest of us killed. Didn’t you just say that you were scared a few minutes ago? You’re right to be…”

“Don’t insult me. I’m worried about their long-term plans, but I’ve never been afraid of a good fight. I’ll leave my fingernails lodged in their throats while I release my dying breath if it comes to it…”

Jen rolls her eyes “Then what did you mean earlier when you said you were scared?”

Captain Harlington sighs. “I’d actually be less worried about our surviving crew members if there were fewer of us.”

“What??? That doesn’t even make sense.”

“Listen to me. I spent years in SABRE, Jen. Light infantry tactics, Interstellar counter intelligence, The Mars Rebellion. These pirates are obviously rejects from the remnants of that COSH terrorist group. “

“Yeah…I figured that as well.”

“I heard reports years ago that they were kidnapping citizens of the Republic.”

“So what? They took prisoners…it’s part of war.”

Pete shakes his head. “You don’t understand. I only know what I heard during the briefings, but…our intel suggests that these people were well-fed and treated as guests.”

“What the hell is so bad about that?”

“Because after a few months they were never seen again…ever.” Jennifer sat in silence and began to think about what might have happened to them. Were they killed? Executed? What did he mean disappeared?

“We could never discover what happened to them. I‘m talking thousands of citizens and no body parts either, Jen.”

Jen looks down at the floor and ponders Pete’s words. “You think they plan to use us as slaves.”

“Not likely…we have no reports of slave labor anywhere other than Frandronia and they’re completely independent from all other systems.”

“So what then…”

“The galaxy is not a safe place, Jen. We can only deal with what we know. We know that pirates have kidnapped people and those humans were well-fed and treated with kindness after their ships were attacked and a portion of the crew murdered. I haven’t told anyone else about this because the information is classified so technically, I’ve violated a handful of interstellar counterintelligence protocols and will go to prison in the unlikely event that we survive this ordeal. Now, you know what I know, Jen. We are being treated just like those others. That’s why I fought so hard to avoid capture while on the ship. Our fate may well be worse than a quick death. “

“So you think our best chance is to fight our way out even though a physical confrontation would almost certainly get us all killed? You just said there were no bodies found. How do you know they aren’t being held some place more comfortable than this?”

“Even if they are still alive, they aren’t here, and they aren’t with their families. They were never returned. Is that what you want? Besides, we can only deal with what we know, and I know that I don’t want to disappear and end up on someone’s SABER counterintelligence report. I also know that I let my crew down last week.”

“You couldn’t have stopped them, Pete. We were outgunned on the vessel. Even with larger numbers, we couldn’t beat them.”

“You don’t know the full extent of my failure…but you will before this is done…”

A burly pirate that was eyeing the prisoner, captain Peter Harlington, walks over. Jennifer looks down and takes a sip of her water, but Pete holds his eye contact and smirks at the younger but larger man.

“Can I help you, son?”

“You’re the one-eyed asshole responsible for my brother’s death.”

“You’re brother?”

“He was on your ship 4 days ago.”

“I didn’t kill anyone, son. At least …not 4 days ago.”

“You the captain of that research vessel, aye?”

Captain Harlington laughs a bit at the man’s Amonian accent. “We come all the way out into space…several light years from Gliese…and I run into a fucking Amonian? You gotta love them odds.”

The pirate pulls out a dagger and moves closer to Pete. “You got a problem with Amon?”

“Not on a personally level really. Some of you blue-skinned fuckers are really good at cooking food. Fried laprocia can only be enjoyed on Amon. Love that shit. Some of you are just plain assholes though. Just some advice…you’d better put that knife down son before you cut yourself…”

“My brother and I grew up on Earth together but we were only born an Amon. We left for Sol when we both finished ORG 2 at age 18 and you killed him in cold blood.”

“Hardly cold blood, son. He was a pirate for goodness sake. You telling me you didn’t see this coming. If it’s any consolation, it wasn’t personal. I didn’t even know him, but he attacked my ship and eight of my people are dead too. What about their families?”

Harlington looks down at the pirate’s hand while Jennifer puts her glass of water down onto the bar counter.

“I see you still have the blade out despite my admonishment.”

Other people in the facility are beginning to form a small circle around the three.

“He took care of me for years after our parents were killed in the war. He was the only family that I had left…”

Captain Harlington looks around. “Does this sound very cliché’ to anyone else in this place because … “

“You’re not funny, shithead!” The pirate yelled.

“Calm down, son. We don’t have to do this, but you’re starting to piss me off. Besides, I technically didn’t kill your brother. The automatic defense grid did”

“You’re the captain…you ordered the machines that turned him into a piece of swiss cheese.”

Captain Harlington suddenly became agitated and stood up face to face with the pirate. They were about the same height, but the pirate probably weighed a good 30 pounds more and had no gray hairs in his mustache.

“Yeah…I had 2 sentry defense models installed on my ship and I should’ve had more installed to kill every single one of you bastards!” Most of my crew were just scientists. Not warriors.

Dr. Rhone places her hand on Pete’s arm. “Peter…sit down…please…”

“Yeah…you’d better listen to the good doctor before you do something stupid… Peter… Our captain said we are not to harm you unless you attack us or you try to escape, which is lucky for you.” The pirate returns his knife to his sheath and turns to walk away.

Pete gently pushes Jen’s hand away. “What’s that supposed to mean scurvyman?”

“It means I’d be wearing your guts as a necklace if not for the captain’s protection you’re under. Keep that in mind the next time you eyeball me…”

“Two things numb nuts…one…you’re breath is without a doubt the worst thing that I’d ever smelled in my entire existence in the universe. I’m not even kidding…and two…you’re men killed eights of our crew members. You only lost three on your side.”

“Those eight were not your family!

Pete turns to look at Jen. “Yes, they were…” The pirate shakes his head and once again turns to leave.

“Oh and I just thought of a third point…”

The pirate once again turns to face him as Jen’s expression transitions from relaxed to terrified. “The men that you lost were all pirates. My people were highly educated scientists, so each one of them is probably worth more than five of you scurvy basturds…including your soreass brother…I think I might have stepped on a tiny piece of his dick when you all were escorting me off of the vessel…hard to tell with so many chunks of his flesh on the walls and floor…”

Suddenly the pirate pulls out his knife and grabs a fistful of Jen’s hair while holding the knife to her throat. She looked at Pete and tried to stay calm. “Let go of me. I didn’t do anything!” She knew better than to struggle against the more powerfully built pirate.

“Perhaps I should kill your family off then too. Starting with her.”

Captain Harlington smiles and shakes his head in disappointment. “I told you that might cut yourself…” He hits the pirate in the arm, bends his elbow while gripping his blade-wielding hand and shoves the knife into his windpipe. No one even heard the pirate scream.

Jen falls to the floor as Captain Harlington swings around while pulling the knife out and jamming it into the pirate’s spine. “Now, your brother won’t be so lonely in hell, scurvyman.”

Pete’s elbow struck an approaching pirate’s jaw a split second before his knee swung around and dug into a third pirate’s ribcage.

“Pete, stop it! They’ll kill you…”

“Let them try!”

Pete felt a huge arm come around the right side of his head and pull him into a headlock but within seconds he had driven the knife into the man’s right shoulder and sent a leopard fist strike to another pirate’s throat followed by a savage headbutt to his eye socket.

“You bastards will all pay for what you did to my crew. You hear me! You’ll all…pay for…”

The good captain felt his arms go limp and then his legs. He felt dizzy and dropped to the floor.

“Hard to breath, isn’t it captain?” Grace, the ship’s head of security, said as she lowered her weapon. “You aren’t dying. But the tiny machines that I just launched into your neck only allow enough oxygen for you to barely move. I don’t know why the captain wants such a scorpion alive in his den.”

She stands over the slowly breathing captain who looks up at her with anger and disgust.

“Take him to sector 9.”

“What are you going to do with him?” Jen asked

“Fortunately for him, the captain wants him alive. I would’ve killed him were I in charge.”

“I don’t believe that…”

“You don’t know me very well Dr. Rhone.” Grace replied. “I imagine that as a minimum the captain will keep Harlington isolated from the crew for the next few days at least. That means you’re their leader whether you want to be or not. You’ve got 17 people looking up to you for guidance. Try to be a better example than him.”

Suddenly the room tilts to the left and the floor shakes violently.

“What was that?”

Grace holds her hand up as if to demand silence and listens carefully into her earpiece. “The ship is stuck in D7.” Grace said. “Get a security team to engineering! Now!”

She looks over at Dr. Rhone. “It seems your captain is cleverer than we suspected. This little bar fight was clearly a distraction. Two of your other crew members managed to sabotage the ship’s inertial dampeners, which forced us to reduce speed until we can repair them. It’ll buy you all some time but not much.”

Dr. Jennifer Rhone runs over to what would normally be a high table for storing spare parts but what is now a counter for serving drinks. “Hey…” She tries to get the attention of the server. He barely acknowledges her presence. “What is going on? What just happened?”

The bartender says nothing but grabs an unlabeled bottle with pale yellow fluid and grabs two glasses.

“This is the captain speaking…”

Jen was silent. This was the first time that she heard the pirate captain’s voice through the intercom.

“We are currently at code orange. I repeat code orange.” He said nothing else.

“What’s a code orange she asked the bartender.”

He said nothing to her.

“Hey…I’m talking to you!”

Two men walked into the room and stood by Dr. Rhone as she stood by the bar. Both seemed slightly larger than most of the other men on the ship and they were heavily armed.

The bartender finally spoke. “It means you and your friends are going back into your cells Miss Genius.”

She began to head towards the exit with her escorts after having her question answered.

“It’s Mrs.…”