Pirates of Infinite Space
a Treasure Planet fan fiction
by Lord Akiyama
Disclaimer: With the exception of Clarice, Black Sam Roberts and Peter Reynolds, all characters are more than likely the property of Disney. The character of Clarice is the property of Long Meg Silver and is used with permission (Thanks Meg - XD)
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Chapter 10 - Treasure
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The Planet Maladar
"That looks like as good of a spot as any, gentlemen," Roberts said. "Near the ocean, wide open. I cannot seem to find a better spot. Do you agree, Captain?"
"Would appear so," Amelia grunted. She was still having problems figuring Roberts out. He was clearly a law breaker, yet he seemed to obey the rules of mannerism. Such a combination was troubling her, though it was clear that she cannot completely trust him. It was as if he was hiding something. She just couldn't place her finger on it.
The longboat filled with Roberts, Amelia, Clarice, Reynolds, and a handful of Roberts' crew hovered above sandy beach selected to be the landing spot. One of the crewman jumped off the boat to tie it down. The very second he landed, he ground below him caved in. He screamed as he quickly disappeared into the sand. Everyone in the boat looked over and noticed the sand quickly covering up its crime.
"Well, I guess no one saw that coming," Clarice commented. "So... what do we do now, seeing that there could be a lotta these sand traps about."
"Not to worry," Roberts said, calm and cool as usual. "Let me try one of my scorpions." He reached into his coat pocket and removed a remote. He pressed a button and one little scorpion appeared as if from thin air. The scorpion edged slowly from the bottom of the boat to the ground. It hopped onto the sand. No cave in. The scorpion crawled about, as if looking for something.
"My pet obtains information on the sand and it is sent directly to this remote," Roberts explained. "These sand traps are activated by weight. I'm guessing every one of us would activate the traps quickly. Give me a moment and I'll have some more scorpions to scan the area. There has to be some place we can land upon. Otherwise, how else could who ever did this escape?"
It would take another hour or so and nearly an army of scorpions before a spot for the crew to land upon was found. Roberts hopped off first before the longboat was emptied. One of the crewmen tied down the longboat as Roberts assigned his crew their positions on the hunt. Clarice, Amelia, and Reynolds could only watch. There was nothing for them to do.
"Remain in straight formation," Roberts commanded, "and move in a slow pace. Sand traps may not be the only danger about. Move out." And so their treasure hunt began. The crew felt lucky. Legends had been said that no one came out of Maladar alive. Maybe it was the sand trap that got them. Or maybe it was the wire on the ground. When tripped, the wire sets off a web of lasers that turned the unfortunate victim into small pieces. In this case, two of Roberts' crewmen were the unfortunate victims.
Reynolds leaped into the air screaming in a high pitched tone. Clarice raised an eyebrow in disgust. Amelia squinted her eyes in surprise. Roberts looked upon the pieces that were once his men and shook his head. They suddenly heard echoing laughter. They looked about before they looked in front. Standing before them was a holographic image of Nathaniel Flint.
"You think I would be stupid enough to allow would-be outlaws like yourselves to just freely take riches that rightfully belong to me?" the image said, with a few rusting in his voice. It had been over a hundred years since this message was made. "You want to steal my treasure? All right then, let's play a little game. If you can over come my obstacles you may take a portion of my riches. Nothing more. I see you have successfully passed two of my trials. The sand traps and the laser web. Let's move on to round three, shall we." And with that, the image disappeared.
"Yer kidding," Clarice said. Only Amelia heard Clarice speak. "Legend said that not even Flint could plunder Maladar. I guess no one ever thought to possibly take into account that Flint owned the planet. I had a bad feeling and look what happens."
"Of all the pirates we have to survive whatever assault from," Amelia sighed. "I never thought that pirate would be Nathaniel Flint."
"That makes three of us," Roberts sighed. "Well then, I suggest we continue onward. I'll see what my scorpions will pick up. Until then, we remain in formation. See to it that all our senses are on high alert." Roberts pushed a button on his remote and all of his scorpions sped before them. Moments later, various traps were set off. Roberts sighed and shook his head. "There's goes my current supply of scorpions. We're on our own from this point on. At least we got rid of some of those obstacles."
"I see someone was smart enough to bring about some nifty tools," a voice said. It was clearly the voice of Flint. They continued forward, looking for his holographic image as he continued to speak. "I must compliment you on such an intelligent manner. Beating my devices with yours. From the look of it, I believe you are successful and have found the share of my riches I will part with. Don't even bother trying to find the rest. I made sure you will die before any other treasure of mine can be found."
They made their way through the carnage laid waste about them. Sharp blades stuck about so they moved slowly. Finally, they reached the holographic image of Nathaniel Flint. A grin formed on his face as he motioned his hand about a pile of riches. "This is all that I will part with. But don't think I'm going to part with it freely. There is one last obstacle for you to overcome. I have laced an invisible trap about this pile of treasure. I will give you one piece of advice, flesh will be the death of you as it will set off an explosion placed in the planet's center. Think you can survive and get away with my riches?" Flint laughed once more before his image disappeared.
"Now this is just peachy," Amelia grunted. "If I understood him correctly, Flint has set up a trap where if we attempt to even touch his treasure this planet will explode."
"This is definitely the most difficult situation I've find myself in," Roberts commented. "How in the world are we going to do this? We can't just turn back now with nothing in our possessions. Who knows what else Flint could have set up if we try to return."
Some time had passed as everyone began to sit around the pile of treasure before them. Roberts kept a close eye on his crew as they were itching to grab a piece of the treasure and make a run for it. Clarice and Amelia sat at one side, staring at everyone and everything. They were tired and bored. All this adventuring only to be caught in a deadly trap set up by the very man who seemed to rule their lives. First there was Treasure Planet, now there was Maladar. What else could Flint do to attract the attention of the world?
"'Flesh will be the death of you...'" Clarice whispered. "'Flesh...' What a minute." Clarice got up and thought some more. "Flint said, 'Flesh will be the death of you...' I don't think he took into account the idea of a cybernetic arm."
"Do you think it's worth the risk?" Amelia asked.
"Do we have any other choice?" No one made an answer as Clarice used her cybernetic left arm to reach for the treasure. She took a handful and quickly pulled them back. Nothing happened. Clarice shrugged and dropped the coins into a leather pouch she carried. "I guess I'm your savior, guys."
Moments later, Clarice had cleared the pile of treasure and had placed them into leather bags that Roberts brought with him. When the treasure was taken, the crew made their way back to the longboat. One of Roberts' crewmen notice a coin lying on the ground. Thinking nothing of it, he picked it up. Suddenly, a blade shot out of the ground and ran through the crewman. Everyone turned and heard the familiar laughter.
"I must bid you all a farewell," Flint said as his holographic image appeared. "It is time for Maladar to disappear from existence forever. One would have to wonder if you will be erased from existence as well. I leave that up to you." Flint laughed once more as his holographic image died for good.
"Everyone to the longboat!" Roberts commanded. Not caring about the safety about them, everyone just ran. A few crewmen tripped and found themselves impaled into various blades that stuck out from the carnage involving the scorpions. Those that survived and made it to the longboat quickly made for the Intrepid. No one knew how much time before the planet was going to explode. Hopefully they would escape alive.
"Evasive action, gentlemen!" Roberts said as the longboat arrived at the ship. They decided to leave the longboat. They didn't have time to dock it properly. "Full power and get us out of here fast. Handsomely, now!" Clarice, Amelia, and Reynolds could only watch as Roberts commanded what was left of his crew to escape the inevitable explosion.
They watched as the planet began to turn red the minute the ship started to set sail. The further away they sailed, the more the planet became a red sphere. An instant later, a large bang was heard and the planet exploded. Everyone on the ship pushed forward hard in an effort to increase the speed of the ship. The exploding fire of what was once a planet began to gain on them. Moments later, the fire died down. They had successfully escaped Flint's trap.
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to be continued...
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R/R - I really wanna hear what y'all think.