This is my first shot at writing fan fiction, I hope you guys enjoy my entries. Comments and critiques welcome.
Chapter One
The wooden masts creaked as the solar sails suddenly went limp. I glanced up, cursing, then ran to the edge of the poop deck. I grasped a rope and swung myself over the rail to get a better view of our pursuers. The warship aft of us was gaining steadily, I swore violently and threw myself up into the rigging. I grabbed two fistfuls of the platinum sail fabric. Normally, light should be rippling and shooting through the octagonal pattern, but now only a dull sheen would flicker randomly across. I cursed again then turned my attention to the roaring captain.
"Alice! Get your carcass out of the rigging and into the control cabin and get the power going!"
"That's where I'm going!" I bellowed. He swore at me. I swore at him. As I slid down the rope, I could feel my gloves burn with the friction of the rope. My heavy boots hit the boards hard and I ran across the deck and dropped into the control cabin.
Lights flashed as circuits overheated and sparks flew as I worked furiously to divert all power to the thrusters. I gave up on trying to use the console and dove underneath, loosened a metal grill and started on rewiring the converter box.
There was a buzz then a terrific crash shook the ship. My head smashed into the panel above and was thrown with equal force back onto the deck. I gasped from the sharp jolt and my pounding skull. No matter how many times I got shocked I never got used to the feeling. A second later the electric hum of the ship faded. I cursed and ran over to the monitor displaying a shaky diagram of the ship. I scanned the image, looking for where we had taken the hit. I groaned and gripped the consol. Our thrusters had been blown completely off our stern by the enemy's static cannon. The ship wasn't going anywhere.
I attempted to switch our meager power back to the sails and then to the side thrusters. Nothing. I tried a few other things but the fact remained, our ship, The Dark Doubloon, was sunk.
I slammed my boot into the side of the consol, cursing this ship and my aching head. I touched my forehead lightly, wincing as I felt blood. The captain screamed my name, I should tell him what's happened before he asks.
"Coming cap'n!" I took the stairs two at a time to get to the main deck. "Our thrusters are shot! I've tried everything, we won't be going anywhere anytime soon."
The captain's angular face purpled and twisted with pent up rage. He stumped over to me, his impressive height helping with his natural intimidation. His powerful, scarred hands grabbed the collar of my embroidered waistcoat and drew me up until my feet left the deck. I clung to his wrists, trying to keep myself from being strangled. He pulled me closer, voice lowering with menace, "Now, you're going to tell me what you did wrong."
I recoiled from his foul breath, "I did the best I could, I swear! There is nothing to be done." I choked out.
His grip on my collar twisted, making it harder to breath. From the close up view I enjoyed, I could see his jaw tighten and the vain on his forehead pulse. I knew how unpredictable the captain could be and decided to play my only card.
"And if we get out of this," I rasped, "You'll need someone to reassemble the thrusters and completely reroute your circuitry. We both know I'm the only one skilled enough to do that. You need me. Alive."
I saw the fury burn in his eyes, then fade as he realized it was true. "Alive," He ground out through clenched teeth. With a quick movement, he dumped me onto the wooden deck. As I lay there gasping, he bent over me. "I never said unhurt." I glared at him as he stalked off, ordering the crew to prepare for battle.
I stood up shakily and glanced aft. The Imperial Star Galleon had their forward static cannons trained at our stern. I felt fear slowly trickling down my spine, this might not end well for me. I looked down at myself and wished I was something more than an unprotected human. Of the spacers aboard this ship, a motley crew at best, most of them are part of the Crustacean family, heavy plated and safe from most threats. My loose blouse and tawdry embroidered vest would keep me safe from minor shrapnel at best.
"Look here, you lousy lot," the captain bellowed, "The only chance we got is to make a good fight out o' this mess. I want the sails furled, and the all power diverted the the static cannons. Bring 'er around to face the bloody Star Galleon and give 'em hell fire!"
The crew gave a ragged cheer and set about their tasks. Mine was conserving and routing any power we had left. I ran back down to the control cabin, swaying slightly as the ship keeled over with the sharp pivot it was making. My hands flew over the many knobs and switches, doing the best I could with our limited power.
I heard it before I felt it. The air crackled with what could only be a statically charged cannon ball coming our way. I leaped away from the metal console and threw myself against the wooden column in the center of the cabin. The impact shook my world, jarring everything around me. Anything metal lit up with a shower of sparks. As the ship settled, I cautiously touched the console, hoping I would not get thrown across the cabin with the force of the electric charge. Nothing happened. I breathed a sigh of relief.
One interesting thing about static cannon balls, with as much damage they cause, you can harvest that energy and use it again to charge your own cannon. So, in theory, one ship could pass a charged cannon ball to the enemy ship and the enemy ship could use that static to charge their own cannon ball and shoot it right back, and so on and so forth. Which is exactly what I planned to do since we would no longer be getting solar power from our furled sails. I had to make sure that the spacer aiming the cannon would fire it at the Star Galleon's bridge. Chances are it would take out the captain but even if it didn't, it might bust their steering.
After I diverted all the power we could spare to the cannons, I ran onto the deserted gun deck. "Brigg! Be sure to fire the cannon somewhere it'll do damage, I say the bridge."
The burly gunner, Brigg, turned around, his plated skin rustling. "You know nothin' about guns, cabin girl. Stay back and let a real pirate do 'is job." He continued to stand there, drumming his dull claws on the well used cannon.
I waited for half a minute from him to fire, waiting for him to act. But I got tired of watching our enemy approach. "Why haven't you fired? They're just getting closer!"
"I'm waitin' 'till I can get a shot at their thrusters." He growled.
"That's stupid! You know that Galleons have protected thrusters! We'll have a better chance if you take out the steering or the power receivers." I disregarded his menacing glare and continued, I felt as if I was fighting for the ship's survival as well as my own skin. "We only have this one ball until we get hit again, then, and only then, can we fire again, if we aren't too badly damaged at that point to fire. You can't just fire willy nilly."
"I'll do what I need." He said as his claws left the cannon. I saw what was coming. I stumbled back but was too slow to avoid Brigg's uncharacteristic speed. His claws slammed into my face with jarring force. I gasped sharply and fell back, holding my bruised jaw.
He turned his spined back to me and watched the Galleon grow closer. I sat still, trying not to whimper as I watched in horrified fasination. In three minutes the ships were parallel, stern to aft. Brigg aimed the cannon and fired. The air crackled and I trailed the strobing missile with my eyes, watching it ricochet off of the Galleon's shielded thrusters. Brigg smashed his heavy claw into the railing, cursing his luck. I scrambled back to my control cabin before he found something or someone else to vent his spleen.
I griped the edge of the console until my knuckles turned white. I could not slow my breathing no matter how hard I tried. I jumped and nearly screamed as static muskets started to fire.
You are not going to get out of this one. You have cheated death one too many times. The thoughts ran circles through my head.
No! The thought seemed too faint to grasp, but I tried. You will make it through the battle, even if the rest of the crew does not. If you're going to live, it means others will die. That didn't even shift the scale. You're no hero, you come first. It's not like they would do the same for you.
And, so I set about with my betrayal. If I was to survive, I would need some way of getting out alone. I couldn't steal one of the sloops and sail away without being detected. And the ship wasn't going anywhere, and neither was the battle with the Star Galleon.
Unless...unless I took this ship out of the picture and the battle would be gone. That was an idea, but how would I make that happen? I gasped as a single brilliant idea hit me.
I blow the ship, assuming I wouldn't die myself.
But there I hit another wall. Once the ship is gone, what do I do? I knew the gravity field would disappear along with the vessel, but the oxygen sphere would remain for at least thirty minutes, if my calculations were right. If they weren't, I'd be dead. If I lived, then any Imperial crew worth their salt would search the wreckage for survivors and kill me.
"Dead!" I cursed. "Why does every possibility end with me dying?" I drove my heavy boot into the center column as I ran my hand through my hair in frustration. I pressed my bruised and bleeding forehead against the column, trying furiously to find a way around this problem. I ran as many different scenarios through my head as possible. An idea bubbled to the surface of my roiling mind. What if I blow the ship but when the crew finds my I don't look like pirate? Cocking my head, I considered it. I glanced at myself, my skin was fairly free of tattoos and other tell-tale signs of piracy. That might get me on the Galleon, but what then? I'd have to think of that part later.
Blowing the Dark Doubloon would be the easiest part. If I could get my hands on a static musket, all I would have to do is shoot the main circuit board and, voila! Bit and pieces of a pirate ship would float around the galaxy. Most of the crew would die, but I would be fairly safe, in the eye of the storm, somewhat. Both ships are close enough that their oxygen spheres touch, so I would, in theory, just float over to the Galleon. If I could keep myself from being torn apart in the explosion.
My thoughts shifted to my appearance. If I took all off my pirate regalia and was left in my dirty white blouse and dark trousers, I would pass for a normal galactic citizen. But what would a normal galactic citizen be doing on a pirate ship? I tapped my fingers on the wooden column. If I tied myself to this, it would kill two birds with one stone. Protection from the impact and it would make me look more like a captive. Less questions would be asked about a slave on a pirate ship than a passenger.
I had most of a plan worked out in my head, now I had to make it happen, fast. I crept up to the gun deck, the crew had their backs to me as the fought the enemy. Spare muskets lay in chaotic piles, which made it easy to steal one without being noticed. I ran down to my cabin and after finding some rope, I stripped all tawdry raiments from me. Earrings and bracelets came off, blonde braids undone, gun belt and weapons hit the floor. I ripped off my vest and neck tie. I threw my knives and smaller gun in a cabinet, I didn't need those flying around and hitting me when this thing blew.
My heart started pounding as I got closer and closer to blowing the ship. As I was working on exposing the motherboard, I dared to think what I would do if I got on the Galleon. Chances are good that it will stop at a port nearby to make repairs and stock up after this battle. Then all I would have to do is lie and bluff, some of my strong points, my way through until they docked at the port and go on my way, with no one the wiser. I allowed a rakish smile to creep on my face. I would win this.
With everything set, musket by my side, I sat against the column and started the difficult task of tying myself, backwards, to the column with one hand. It was tedious at best, and even more so when another static cannonball hit our fore'ard mast. Now I really have to work fast, the crew'll be expecting me to reroute the energy from the cannonball. I finished my knot, my left hand tied in with the rest of me, but my right free to fire the musket.
Just as I picked up the musket, footsteps pounded down my stairs. I froze. Brigg's voice thundered in the small cabin, "Are ye useless? Why haven't you powered up the cannon?" Brigg's eyes darted around the room, his small brain trying to decipher what was going on. That was all the time I needed. As his mouth formed the question I knew was coming, I grabbed the musket, aimed it at the motherboard and pulled the trigger.
Time seemed to slow. I saw the tiny strobing blue bullet streak towards the console as the gunner asked, "What's goin'..." He never got any further. The bullet slammed into the delicate circuit in a shower of sparks. The air grew still and pulled towards the motherboard, then, with a roar, the ship cracked. Tiny, bright blue lines spread out instantly along the walls starting at the console, becoming bigger and thicker as they surrounded larger pieces of the ship. This had all happened in less than a second. Then, with a dull whump, the ship blew apart.
One second I was in a ship, the next I was flying through cold, silent space. I gasped sharply, shocked by the temperature change. I blinked freezing tears away as I tried to clear my vision. Debris and stray bullets floated blurrily by in the gravity-less carnage. The column I was tied to had broken off at the top and bottom. The jagged edges dug into my lower back leaving my feet dangling.
A dim shadow fell across my body and I glanced up. A strangled scream clawed to escape my throat. A massive piece of the ship loomed above me, hurtling in my direction. The wires and sharp metal reinforcements jutted out, angled right at me. I squirmed and tried to move myself out of the way before I collided with the planking. I waved my arm and kicked my legs frantically at empty air, trying to deflect it even though it was above my head. I flinched as it grew closer. The silent juggernaut closed in, I could only watch as the lethal metal slid through my shirt and into my left side. I let out an agonized scream as I pushed futilely against the wood. I could feel my ribs and the metal grinding together. Gritting my teeth, I griped the bottom of the planking with my free hand, ignoring the piercing edges, and pushed myself off the rebar. I nearly passed out as I felt the metal slide sickeningly over my rib cage and out of my body.
Head swimming, I kicked off the planking and sent it floating in the opposite direction. Gently spinning toward the Galleon, I braced myself to look at the damage that had been done to my body. The wound was already covered with a steadily increasing puddle of blood traveling up and down my side. Because of the lack of gravity, the blood had nowhere to go. It looked like a dark red bubble still in contact with the rest of my body. It rippled and trembled with each heartbeat. I pressed my hand on the wound in an attempt to stop the flow of blood, dully noting the blood traveled up my wrist and forearm. My stomach lurched, I wasn't sure if it was from the lack of gravity or blood loss.
It had been about fifteen minutes, I could feel the air growing thin. It was getting colder and colder, the blood moved sluggishly around my hand as the temperature dropped even further. My vision drifted in and out of focus as I tried not to retch all over myself. I was conveniently angled off the starboard side so I could see all the goings-on aboard the Star Galleon.
The captain seemed to be having an animated conversation with his first mate. He was gesturing out at the debris and I did not miss the fact that he did not look like the usual captains. He was young and carried himself in a commanding yet reckless way. He sported a haircut that I doubted the Royal Navy sanctioned. The first mate was protesting as much as her rank would allow her. She seemed to be doing a good job of it, too. The captain's face fell for a minute, then he shook his head and said something to the first mate obviously meant to appease her but only made her even more irritated. Luckily, he ducked out of that situation and reappeared back on deck holding, what was he holding? It looked like a solar surfer, but why would he have that? My detached mind wondered, it's not your typical navel protocol to use a solar surfer to finish off pirates. I watched as he dove off the starboard side of the Galleon and kicked the solar surfer to life. He cruised around the wreckage with practiced ease.
I gasped silently for air, my thirty minutes were almost up. Darkness crept around my vision. There was no despair. It felt strange, the absence of sorrow and desperation, I felt like I was missing something. But I couldn't remember what. I had just given myself up for lost when I felt movement. I blink my chilled eyes and saw the silhouette of the captain against the lights of the ship. He was pushing me, column and all, in front of him, towards the Galleon. The closer we got, the warmer it became. Before he crossed the Galleon's gravity barrier, he cut me free of the ropes and held me firmly. I could feel him brace for gravity and my weight as he moved forward. Gravity pressed me into his arms and I felt the cold blood rush down my left arm and down the captain's clean uniform. A second later, he stepped onto the Star Galleon's pristine deck and I saw the first mate looming over me as the captain laid me on the smooth boards.
"Someone get M.E.R.! And I need something to staunch the blood!" He shouted at a crewman.
The first mate ripped off her coat and handed it to him, saying, "Here. I'll get M.E.R., Captain."
"Good. Be quick." Turning his face to me, he said in a softer tone, "What's your name?" As he waited for my reply, he pressed the coat on my side.
I writhed at his touch. I hadn't realized how numb I had been out there. "Alice." I groaned, trying to keep my mind on anything but the pain. I gasped as my vision tunneled. The last thing I remember in the commotion was the captain's voice.
"My name's Jim, Jim Hawkins."