AN: Just a non-serious pop-fly…from the lack of space Jori… Shame on you all. (dead-stare)
Enjoy :{)
Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious and never will.
Okay, since this is just for fun I'm going to be using the types of star ships from the animated movie Treasure Planet or the PS2 game Rogue Galaxy…if you don't get those references then imagine an old galleon with sails and what-have-you in space, it's that simple. Of course the ships would be metal instead of wood and have solar sails instead of cloth, plus advanced tech, and maneuvering thrusters on the back and under side. But they'd still have an open deck which you could stand on courtesy of an invisible atmospheric shield. Just because they're more whimsical and all. ;{)
Prelude…sort of:
The year is 2398 AD or 168 AFC (after first contact…with the aliens that are indeed out there and all too human) humanity now graces the heavens with FTL drives that allow travel to local clusters in only a few days and distant in a few weeks. Consequently under the new government of the Edict this is the Age of Expansion, where everyone is heading for ripe, recently terra-formed and discovered worlds to start new lives far away from the congestion of the hyper metropolises that are the home system's planets and satellites.
Much to everyone's surprise first contact with aliens was rather smooth, most of them aren't super advanced with a 'we are dominate' mentality…they're actually very human, which made integrating them into our civilization and vice-versa easy. Sure it was rough at first, but the xenophobia died out pretty quick after a massive series of embarrassing vid leaks…Chancellor Varrosa's sex tape was a huge hit with the xenophobes turned xenophiles. The Beetles seem to have had it right, 'Love is all you need', John Lennon's most likely smiling from wherever in the universe he may be.
On the Xeno-Calpa Trade Route the Benita Soya, a standard passenger freighter, travels with a fresh batch of colonist bound for the outer world Prima Fae. They had been traveling for little over four weeks on a five week run…when trouble sounds at a routine stop to vent the coolant for the main reactor.
Red lights flash warning across the vessel as the captain catches the ghost of a blip on the sensors…already right beside them. Before he can issue an order a message comes in, "It's the Phantom Gale!"
At the mention of that accursed vessel the seasoned captain barks an order across the entire ship, "Lock the women in the hold! Protect them with your very lives!"
One of the younger crew asks nervously, "Can we really defeat them, sir?" Having heard the tales of the dreaded Phantom Pirates of the Gale, mostly of their ferocity and brutality.
The captain draws his Volition pulse pistol and energy saber, average quality weapons…standard issue for most Edict owned freighters. With a gruff voice he answers, "No chance in hell…but we'll give 'em all we can. And maybe by the might of the Edict they won't stick around for the ladies." He hurries off to greet the bitches of the void, hopefully killing a few before he himself went down.
The young man swiftly follows gripping his own pistol with a trembling hand, "Aye, sir. We die men."
And that's exactly what they did, they died…all of them. The pirates on the other hand suffered no injuries to speak of…except one of them jammed her finger killing the Benita Soya's captain. Unfortunately, that pirate happened to be the captain, the very moody captain Jade West of the infamous Phantom Gale, and she was now in a very foul mood…and rather horny, but mostly just irate.
In order to be in top form for their prize, a hold of women, she decided to cool-off in her quarters. She gave strict orders to her crew not to touch a single one of them, short of getting them aboard the ship that is.
Once the women were aboard and secure, the pirates looted the Benita Soya of her lesser valuables and equipment. Now that the vessel was a barren wreck with numerous bodies, its core was programed to overload. While the Phantom Gale was safely in an FTL bubble already a few light-years away the Benita Soya detonated, leaving nothing but scrap behind in its wake.
9Dread9
It took several hours before Jade was feeling up to putting on the show for her new acquisitions, but once she was ready she had them brought out on the main deck. Surrounded by the majestic gentle blue of the FTL bubble the captured women gazed upon the pale raven-haired beauty dressed in her finest outfit; an expensive black and gold ensemble tailored by the elite artisans of New London to fit her endowed physique. From golden feathers in her jet black Tri-cornered hat all the way down to her golden buckled black boots she was the very image of an eccentric pirate from the stories told to children in years past.
But she was anything but a fairytale as she stood with her long coat open to accentuate her bust and showcase her custom crafted sonic cutlass called the Banshee, for as a sonic cutlass its cut generates a dense pulse of sound that could shear through super-hard Titanium-S as if it were paper. While the intricate golden hilted weapon swung at her hip she swaggered forth to inspect her haul.
All of them were dressed in grey jumpsuits, standard for travel, and most were young, much to the captain's fancy, 'They'll fetch a fine price on Bajar.' *Bajar is an independent planet with its own laws and government, free of Edict's influence and control. There very few things were illegal and creds were truly king, if you had the creds it was yours…regardless of what exactly it was.*
There were, of course, a few older and less attractive women amongst the group. The latter were immediately sent below with a hand gesture, they were not as precious as the beauties…but they were far from worthless. The former were lead to the edge of the deck and made to face the blue bubble surrounding them.
Walking over to stand behind the four women Jade draws the Banshee and speaks with overwhelming authority, "I'm afraid your time in this life has come to an end. May the next one treat you better." The blade hums to life as she tightens her grip on the hilt, flipping the switch.
But before she can deliver a lethal swing a voice screams across the deck as one of the girls yet to be inspected runs at the captain, "No! Please don't!" She is immediately stopped by two pirates, who hold her back with ease.
Yet the angelic tone that graced Jade's ears has halted her action. Flipping off the Banshee, she slowly turns around to see the owner of this marvel of a voice. As her eyes fall upon the lean brunette with deep chocolate eyes struggling against her captures, Jade is lost.
Simply standing there with eyes transfixed on the young woman before her, Jade's heart is a mess; one second it beats out of control, then the next it stops altogether, then rampantly faster again. Sweat begins to sweep-out all over as her hands and legs tremor ever so slightly. Then as the girl looks at her, their eyes meet…and Jade's stomach twists into a series of horribly wretched knots that make her heart ache more wildly.
The girl doesn't seem to share the same reaction as she continues to struggle as if looking at the pirate captain was nothing. The ache in Jade's chest only doubles when she's no longer looking into those stormy, brown orbs.
With the continued silence from their captain somewhat unnerving the crew, first-mate Caterina Valentine steps forward, "Captain, what are your orders?" She hopes that this will draw Jade from her stupor.
But Jade remains dazed by the magnificence before her, so Cat speaks as if Jade gave her a wordless order, "Aye, Captain. We will deliver her to your quarters for further inspection." Then she turns to the two holding the girl, "Move as your captain ordered."
"Aye, ma'am." They say in unison as they drag the still struggling girl off, while the other pirates laugh and cheer at the captain's choice…as was their tradition for many of the senior crew to take a prize from each haul.
Without the girl to gaze upon, Jade's senses begin to return to her control. She shakes her head to clear the lingering thoughts, then commands, "Take them all to the hold, we'll deal with them later." Foregoing the rest of the inspection and never even glancing at the women she leaves the deck for the navigation room and her AI confidant BECK, Biologically Engineered Coordinate Kingpin (it was an off-day in the acronym department.) He was an experimental Nav AI that Jade pilfered off of an Edict research vessel…this action also shot her bounty up by a decimal place, making it a cool ninety million creds. She is currently the third most wanted criminal in Edict space, after Colonel Tobias Fang (95mil) and the mysterious Lord Dread Sigma (99mil).
Having been thrown into the captain's quarters by the pirates, the girl stumbles forward and falls on the floor. She swiftly recovers and turns around. Before she can try 'n' run through the doorway a commanding woman with long blood-red hair steps in to block her escape, "I'm afraid you aren't going anywhere, dear." A thin smirk plays across Cat's lips as she watches the girl's eyes frantically search for any means of escape.
"There's a lot of fire in your eyes…a wonderful trait." She leans against the doorframe, "A trait the captain will find to her infinite delight." At that the brunette's wide eyes fall on the redhead before her.
Amused Cat chuckles, "Yes, I'm sure she'll have all kinds of fun with you…" Before she can finish speaking the girl rushes her in a vain attempt to escape. Cat catches her fairly easily by the throat and lifts her in the air with one hand, "Now-now, we can't have you running off…but honestly where would you go? We are on a starship after all, surrounded by the dead of space." Those words ring through the girl's mind as she stops trying to free herself and simply allows Cat to hold her up.
Cat smiles, "That's a good girl. I knew you weren't stupid." She lowers her back to the floor and releases her grip, "Now, just stay here until the captain returns. Do as she wishes or else you'll be the one being tossed overboard…in pieces." The redhead leaves with a wicked smirk and the thought of the elder women's fates now playing in the girl's mind.
With the door firmly closed and locked behind her, Cat lets the girl wait for her new master, chuckling as she sways down the hall to her own new toy waiting in the hold. Since the captain had already chosen her prize, she got the next pick and had seen a gorgeous blonde just begging to be hers. Her smile widens.
Upon entering the Nav center Jade is greeted by the gentle blue holographic image of a handsome young man playing holo-chess with Owen, an orange furred ape-man from Teria. The only male on the ship other than BECK who acted as a back-up navigator/technician for the AI was indeed only about four feet tall with disproportionately long arms and short legs. He would be mistaken for orangutan if he didn't have an extra set of arms and four tails.
Dismissing Owen to the mess, Jade walks over to the central table usually reserved for a galaxy map but was now sporting a chess match. Standing over the virtual chess board she sighs, "I might be in trouble, Beck."
"Seeing as you're the number three criminal in Edict space I think we've gone way passed 'in trouble'." He smiles as he saves, then removes the game in favor of the Milky Way now swirling around him...he always loved to stand at the center of the galaxy and pose to make the captain smile.
Chortling lightly she looks up to meet his gaze, "I mean…I'm in love." Jade had no illusions about the feeling that had engulfed her…it was an unmistakable feeling that she had hoped she'd never experience again.
BECK chuckles pompously, "Well this certainly in sudden. And I could've sworn you only liked women…" Coughing he corrects himself as he drops the holier than thou tone, "…er, young women…girls really."
Shaking her head Jade smiles thinly, "Yes, and she is magnificent." As she recalls the beauty that has her heart in vice wielded to a rocket doing 260% the speed of light.
"I suppose that's why you finished early then?" He notes how she usually takes her sweet time eyeing the girls.
Jade tosses her head back and closes her eyes and she lets the image of the girl with chocolate eyes float through her mind, "…I couldn't think straight when I was looking at her."
Lifting a dark blue eyebrow the AI remarks, "I have never known you to think 'straight', captain."
Allowing her head to fall back to normal she smiles thinly, "No, I suppose not…but she befuddles me to no end. I have never been dumbfounded by a girl this much before." It was true that she had fallen for a girl before, but it was nothing compared to the sheer intensity of this hypnotic attraction.
Mostly setting aside his sense of humor he offers some advice, "Then what I understand of love…and given that I'm a machine that isn't much, but you might want to talk to her."
She stares up at him hopefully, "And how do you propose I do that when every time I look at her my chest feels like it's got a couple of geruy fighting over a scrap of meat?" *geruy, basically just rodents…very territorial and ravenous rodents*
Reducing himself to just a head floating above the table, he looks at her level, "Do what you always do…suck it up and barrel ahead into the breach." Then he cracks a reassuring grin.
Jade smiles thinly, "…I thought AIs were intelligent."
He rolls his eyes, "I'm brilliant, but this is not a matter of tact or intellect…but instead a matter of the heart, so…" He leaves the sentence bare for her to finish.
Sighing she does just that, "I should just follow that troublesome muscle?"
He nods sharply, "Yes, do what you organics do best." Laughing lightly she rises from her seat and departs for her quarters, fully intent to do as the ridiculously human AI has suggested. Despite the overwhelming chance that the girl would rather kill herself than love the pirate that abducted her, she has no doubts that she at the very least needs to try…for good or ill.
AN: So that happened. R&R, p&ty. :{)
Strangely enough I never actually called the brunette 'Tori'…and since this is a one-shot I guess I never will…..maahahahahaha. Just a weird thought out of nowhere. ;{)
-May Dread watch over you-