Tale 1: The Diviner's Curse
Chapter 3
A ship passed through the ionosphere and into the Interstellar Domain. But this was not just some run of the mill ship; this was a pirate ship. They were looking for a treasure that could only be found on this planet and could possibly lead them to another world full of riches. At least, that was what their captain wanted them to believe. It was a very motivational way to get his men working fast.
"Okay, boys," their captain spoke, "no funny business. Let's just get what we need and out. Now everybody, go to the long boats and move out!"
The pirates dispersed and went to their respective boats. Three boats went their separate ways around the Interstellar Academy and the mansion that stood adjacent to it. They turned on the reflective panels that made their longboats invisible so they could avoid being seen by the cadets monitoring the facilities below them. Three peculiar, reckless pirates lurked around one of the windows of the mansion searching for whatever seemed like treasure to them.
"Hey!" a haggard voice cried, a porky hand pointed toward a window.
"Shh!" Another voice shushed the pig and covered his mouth with a slim hand. "What are you trying to do, Tiny? Get us caught?"
"Finny, Tiny, shut up! We have a job to do. Now what were you blabbering about, Tiny?"
The pig pointed to the window again. The rat-like being pointed the light into the room. He pointed to a dresser with a shiny box mostly filled with many expensive jewels and other baubles. "Jackpot."
The boys opened the window—it was lucky for them the window was unlocked—and snuck in as quietly as they could, which was nearly impossible because of their larger crewmate. "Tiny, stay on the boat and watch out for anybody suspicious."
"Why do I always have to stay behind?"
"Shut it!" The pig stayed quiet and sat in the boat begrudgingly.
The other two pirates began plundering. They grabbed every diamond-encrusted and expressive-looking item that seemed valuable.
"Which one do you think it is?" the rat asked.
"I don't know, but cap'n said he'd know it once he saw it," the slimy one replied.
They tried their best not to make any racket, and the only sound in the room was the satisfied chuckles that the two men guffawed as they marveled the stolen valuables. When they were certain they were finished, they made their way to the window. It wasn't until the rat-like pirate accidentally knocked over a vase when the chaos began.
"Damn it, Finny!"
"Sorry, Pat! My tail…!"
"You and that damn tail of yours—!"
Something shifted in the bed which caused the men to stop their bickering completely. The light Tiny held shone onto whoever was in the bed. Underneath the covers emerged a young woman, rubbing her eyes as they adjusted to the irritating light. When her eyes saw the three pirates, she froze.
"Great, Tiny," Patrick growled.
"What'd I do?"
The other pirates ignored him and turned back to the girl. She was already scurrying out of her bed when Patrick yelled, "Get her before she blabs!"
Finny was the first to react, grabbing both of her arms while Patrick went for her legs. She kicked Patrick in the face, which made the slime man angrier. He tried reaching her again, but was once again kicked as she continued to struggle. "Make her stop!" he hissed.
"What am I supposed to do?" Pat said.
Patrick scowled at the rat. "Never mind!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out rag full of chloroform. He put it to the squirming girl's face. Her belligerent movements suddenly became sluggish. He didn't pull away the rag until she was completely motionless. "She's out cold. Let's take her and move!"
"But Pat, are you sure…?"
"She won't forget she saw us. And I think the captain will be very pleased with our findings."
The pirates lifted their load onto the longboat before flying back to the mother ship. Several other ships also returned, but came back with nothing that could satiate their captain. He snarled at his crew.
"No, no! This is not what I'm looking for!"
"Well, Cap, you weren't very specific," one crewmate said.
"Yeah! What exactly is the Treasure of Divinia? Wouldn't it be in… Divinia?" another said.
"We don't know where Divinia is, you twit!" their captain reprimanded. "We need the treasure of Divinia to take us to Divinia to find the Treasure of Eternity. I'll know it when I see it, and I know it's here on this planet." He glanced at three of his men and called them forward. "What do you have?"
The three men, Patrick, Finny, and Tiny, hauled their bag to the captain, who looked upon the bag very skeptical, contemplating whether he should open it or not. These three were the most incompetent men in his crew, so he didn't expect them to bring anything valuable back. However, when he looked into the bag, he couldn't believe his eyes.
"Captain…?"
"We've finally found it boys. The Treasure of Divinia…"
"She was kidnapped! So she's really the Treasure of Divinia? … Who was kidnapped? It was Robin, right?"
"Just wait and find out! At this rate, I'll never be able to finish the story if you keep interrupting me."
"But which girl was kidnapped?"
Tim's mother put a finger to her lips, signaling him to shush. "The next morning, the Headmaster of the Interstellar Academy was furious when he heard the news…"
"How could this happen?" Thomas Smyth cried. "The whole perimeter was on guard! Every nook and cranny was covered! There wasn't one place that didn't have a spacer on guard!"
His wife Marie sat on the ottoman across his desk, crying. The couple had discovered the following morning that their youngest daughter was kidnapped by the pirates Thomas had suspected came into the Interstellar Domain. Other rooms in the mansion were also raided and some of their valuable items were missing, but Robin's was the only one that turned out completely empty.
"We don't know how they got past us, sir," said the rock man Cornelius Arrow. "It was almost like they were invisible."
"That's impossible!"
"Thomas…" His wife looked over at him with her bloodshot eyes. Seeing her teary-eyed face made him calm down a bit. Losing control wasn't going to do any good.
"Dismissed, Lieutenant Arrow."
The rock man saluted before leaving his office. Thomas pinched the bridge of his nose. His daughter was kidnapped and they didn't even know how it happened. Worst of all, they didn't even leave a trail behind. "What to do…"
"Thomas, please…" Marie stood from her spot and went to her husband. "What are we going to do? The pirates are probably far across the Etherium going who-knows-where with our baby girl…"
"Marie, darling, calm down." He took her by the shoulders and looked her in the eye. "We'll get her back. I'll send out the cadets and have them search everywhere."
"You're going to send out the senior students? Thomas…"
"We need the Smyth soldiers to stay here and protect the town and the school. And I think some of the cadets are ready. Just leave everything to me, Marie." The Sylph man craned his neck down and kissed his wife gently. "Everything will be okay. Now chin up." Thomas wiped away the tears falling down her face. Then he headed toward his office doors. "I'll be back."
"Wait, Thomas. I think that… I think Robin knew this would happen. She was so jittery the other day, I knew she had to be hiding something."
"Why do you think she would hide something like that from us?"
"To not have us worry like we are now."
He grunted irately. Of course he knew why Robin really hid her vision; none of them had ever been wrong. "Well, there's nothing we can do about that now. Let's just focus on getting our daughter back."
When the superintendent left, Marie walked up to the large window behind the desk. She could see all of their loyal soldiers lined up in front of the edifice, waiting for their commanding officer to give them their next orders. They were needed to protect the school and the town while some of the students were going out to find Robin subtly. She didn't want to risk the lives of any of the students in the Academy, but if it was the only way to get her daughter back, then she was going to stand by her husband's decision.
Jim couldn't believe his ears. The Headmaster's daughter was kidnapped by the pirates invading the area, and then they suddenly disappeared? It sounded a little too much like something out of his favorite storybook. How was that even possible? Some of the senior cadets even took shifts with the Smyth soldiers to prevent this very thing from happening. But it had happened, and now he and his classmates were going to class as if nothing happened.
And even though he never talked to the girl, he felt a connection with her every time he spotted her from the mansion balcony. Now that she was gone, it was as if he lost a dear friend.
His friends were quick to catch on to his melancholy mood. As they walked on to their third class of the day, Eddie had had enough of his detached sadness. "Okay, man. I know that your girlfriend's missing and all, but snap out of it! Say something! At least yell back or something!"
"…"
"Maybe we should leave him be," Richard advised. "It's obvious he has a lot on his mind."
But Eddie wouldn't quit. He had never been around Jim when he acted this way, and he didn't like it one bit. "Come on, Jim. Don't feel so down. Hey! If you're lucky, maybe you'll be able to help find her."
"In what galaxy?" Jim snapped. "I'm not qualified to go on a mission as big as this yet, Eddie."
"Ha! You talked!"
Jim sighed tiredly. "If you're trying to cheer me up, it's not working. The only way Headmaster Smyth would allow me to go on a mission to get his daughter back was if all of the Smyth soldiers were eaten by bonza beasts."
"Hawkins, Gilligan, Smollet." The three cadets turned to see Lionel walking towards them. "You have been summoned by Master Smyth."
Richard and Eddie looked at Jim. "Congratulations, Hawkins: all of the Smyth soldiers are dead."
Lionel escorted them to the Headmaster's office. When the cadets saw their Headmaster, they were horrified. Headmaster Smyth looked furious. They had never seen their Headmaster this mad before; of course, this was the first time one of his daughters had ever been kidnapped, and it didn't help matters it had been pirates. Jim felt terrible when he looked at his headmaster; he felt at fault that his daughter was gone. Maybe he and the other seniors weren't thorough enough, maybe they should've done more than roam the premises for intruders, he didn't know. Thinking about it just made him feel guiltier.
As he looked upon his fellow cadets, Headmaster Smyth wasn't so sure if he should go through with his plan. But he needed to get his daughter back and he trusted these students… well, he trusted two of them.
"Richard Smollet, Edward Gilligan, and James Hawkins. I called you three here because I have a very important mission for you. I know that you haven't graduated yet and you may not think you're ready for this, but after looking at your records, I see that you three are qualified for going on this voyage.
"The three of you, along with several other cadets, will search for my daughter." The three cadets didn't seem the least bit shocked although Jim did seem a little suspicious. "We have a few leads, but it's up to you to find her. Can I count on you three?"
"Yes, sir!" they all replied in unison.
"Good. You'll be leaving effective immediately. Dismissed." Eddie and Richard saluted before leaving to go to class. Jim stayed behind. "Is there something wrong, Jim?"
Jim took a deep, shaky breath before confessing, "I'm sorry, sir. It's just… I feel as if I let you down…" His eyes suddenly felt watery but he held the tears back. Jim hated crying, especially in front of other people, but he couldn't help it when he was so frustrated with himself.
As the young cadet wiped his tears away, he didn't notice as Headmaster Smyth came over and patted his shoulder empathetically. "It's alright, Jim. None of this is your fault. If there's anyone to blame it's me. Now," he said as he patted his shoulder, "go get ready for your journey. You'll be leaving soon."
Jim saluted to his commanding officer. "Yes, sir!"
After the cadet left, the Headmaster sighed. Jim was very capable young man, and he was positive choosing him for this mission was a good decision. From Captain Amelia Smollet's review, he was experienced in this field, and now that he sent him off, all he could do was hope that his daughter would be returned to him safely.
"Finally some action!" Tim exclaimed.
"Wait, wait, wait," his mother said. "The action hasn't even started yet. And don't you want to know what happened to Robin?"
The little boy shrugged. "Is it going to take long? I want to hear about Jim kicking pirate butt!" Tim began jumping on his bed making sound effects from his mouth.
"Now you are much too young to be using such language, young man. Maybe you should stop hanging around the docks with that frogling boy." Tim's mother caught him and set him back down on the bed. "Now, before Jim and his friends went on their mission, someone else had gotten to Robin first."
"What? But Jim was s'posed to get to her first!" Tim exclaimed. "Who found her first? Who? Who? Who?"
Robin couldn't believe her ears. Her vision came true; she shouldn't have been surprised because all of her visions had always come true thus far. But experiencing it was extremely scary. When she woke up, she heard the eerie voice from her vision. Her mouth was tied with the same gag that tasted like sewage and she smelled the same stench that made her want to vomit. Her limbs were cramped in the chest she was jammed in.
Suddenly, she felt something furry squirming out of her nightgown. "Rune?" When she heard the little chirrup, she nearly cried. "Rune, try to climb around and chew off the rope around my wrists." The little ferret chirped angrily. "Well, can you at least try?" Rune receded back into her nightgown, ignoring her. "Some help you are."
The condition of her cramped space didn't get any better when she was knocked over. Some shouts, the clash of metal, and a few shots from a plasma gun were heard. The darkness became lighter and Robin was able to feel more space above her. Someone suddenly opened the bag and pulled her out. She was soon unfettered, free to move on her own. When her ropes were cut, Rune climbed out of her nightgown and onto her shoulder.
"Thank you," she said. Her rescuer was a female Felinid. "Who are you?"
"The name's Amelia Smollet," she replied.
"Smollet?" Robin tried to remember where she heard that name when it suddenly came back to her. "You're the Captain Amelia Smollet?"
"Yes indeed. And may I presume you are Isabel Smyth?" Robin nodded numbly in awe, though she shouldn't have been surprised that her father's old schoolmate knew who she was. "Then let's get you off this blasted ship, shall we?"
Robin didn't hesitate as the Felinid led her out onto the deck where many unconscious pirates laid. A Canid was waiting for them at the top of the steps. Amelia addressed him affectionately, "Let's go, darling. Who knows how long these rapscallions will stay insentient."
"R-R-Right!" The shaken man ran ahead of them towards a plank leading to another ship.
Robin hesitated to get on the plank but she quickly crossed it so she wouldn't get left behind. On the deck of the ship, the young woman stumbled upon another woman, but she was human. She had lovely brown hair and blue eyes that reminded her of a certain cadet from her father's Academy. Three little Felinid kittens and a Canid pup abruptly joined them along with a frantic robot.
"Mum, who's this?" the blonde kitten asked.
"This is our new guests, and she needs her rest so none of you are allowed to disturb her." Dr. Doppler gathered the children and the four of them left the deck, leaving Amelia, Robin, the other woman, and the robot, alone.
"Isabel, this is Ms. Sarah Hawkins," Amelia quickly introduced. "She'll be taking care of you until we get you home. And this is B.E.N., our Bio-Electronic Navigator. Now, I'll leave you two," she gestured to Sarah and Robin, "so you can get better acquainted with each other. B.E.N., come with me."
"It was nice meeting ya, Izzie!" the robot said as he abruptly shook her hand. And with that said, the Felinid and robot left the two humans alone.
Robin glanced at the woman hesitantly. Everything was happening so fast: first she was kidnapped in the middle of the night by pirates, then the most prominent spacer and her husband saved her life, and now she was left in the care of some stranger. Sarah's eyes held compassion reminiscent of a mother, and aged beauty. And as she looked into her azure eyes, she had a feeling she knew she could trust this woman.
"Let's get you into some new clothes, dear," Sarah said. The older woman took her arm and led her to her own room. "Here." She gave Robin a new gown. "I hope it fits."
"Thank you, Ms. Hawkins. I really hope I'm not a burden."
"Please, call me Sarah. And no, you're not." Sarah sat on the bed and patted the spot next to her for Robin to sit. "Isabel—"
"Call me Robin."
"Alright, Robin. I know everything may be happening too fast for you, but it's okay. If you need anything, I'm here for you."
Robin nodded. "Thank you. I appreciate that." She was very grateful to have Sarah with her at the moment. The older woman reminded her of her own mother. She wondered how her mother was doing right now and how worried she was when she found out she was missing. She was probably devastated. Her father was probably much worse. And she wondered how these people found her so easily. "I still have a few questions," she said, but she was quickly interrupted when a yawn erupted from her lips.
"Maybe you should wait in the morning. We'll be arriving on Montressor soon, so we'll have to arrange for you to return to Astral as soon as we…"
Sarah stopped and smiled when she saw that the young woman was asleep. Robin's arms were wrapped around the gown Sarah gave her. The little creature that was on her shoulder was nestled against her neck, slumbering along with her master. Sarah gently put a blanket over the girl and walked out of the room quietly.
This poor girl was exhausted from this long, terrible night, and she sympathized greatly for her. When she first saw her, she didn't look scared, only confused, like a lost child. There was so much of Jim she saw in this girl, and it felt nice taking care of someone as if they were her own. There was also the Doppler Quartet, but they weren't of her own species. She had a feeling this girl was special; why else would a bunch of brute pirates want to kidnap her?
Amelia knew. She knew something and she was keeping it from them all, but Sarah knew better than to pry. If it was important, the Felinid would inform her immediately. Right now, all she had to worry about was getting a good night's rest to open her inn tomorrow.
R&R!
