AN: Sorry this took me so long to post out. My poor beta-reader is being overwhelmed with me, chores and school. But then so I am! Argg, school has started and thus everything is slow. Promise to get chapter seven up as soon as I can. Thanks you all loyal readers who are putting up with me and my lateness.

            TO: ElvenRanger- e-mail me, buddy, when you're ready to beta again. I won't send anything to you until you're read. Cross my heart and hope to die… well not die…
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Chapter Six- Everyone Lies, Everyone Hurts

                        Alyson moved her hands in the darkness of the brig. She was looking for something sharp to free her hands and had so far been unsuccessful.
            Alyson pressed her feet against the ground, ignored the pain that shot through her as the rope dug deep into her ankles, and pushed herself against the wall. She moved her hands, trying to feel for something sharp. If she could just find something to break the ropes bonding her arms!
            Alyson cursed as she came up empty. She'd been at it for at least two days now and there had been nothing, nothing sharp enough to free her. Even though she didn't know what she'd do once she was free, but first thing was first.
            Alyson sighed and closed her eyes, fighting back tears of frustration. Her stomach growled for food. She hadn't had anything to eat since her first night on the Destroyer and it wasn't likely she'd get anything soon, either.
She pushed herself back so she could lean her head against a wall. Her hands were covered in her own blood from when the ropes had dug deep into skin and the same went for her boots. Alyson groaned and shifted her weight against the wall ever so slightly…
            And instantly lunged forward with a howl of pain. Something sharp had dug into her back! Carefully, Alyson leaned backwards and used the hands tied behind her back to feel for whatever had poked her.
            Triumph soared through her veins when her hands encircled a sharp, metal piece of an object sticking out of the wood of the wall. She could tell from the feel it would definitely be sharp enough to free her hands.
            Twisting her back, Alyson looped the rope around the wonder, amazing metal thing so it was in between her two hands and touching the rope. Slowly, Alyson began to move her hands and wrists.
            Alyson bit back a curse as the metal object cut into her skin as well as the rope. She told herself she could endure the pain if it meant escaping. She forced herself to stare at the moonlight and ignore the pain as she worked herself free.
            Suddenly, the ropes around her wrists gave away with a snap. Alyson gasps as blood rushed into her hands. After having her circulation cut off for two days, the sensation was odd, but it made her feel better.
            Alyson reached down to tear free the bonds on her feet. Even though her hands were no longer bonded, every movement she made was agonizing on her wrists, which still toted the wounds given to them from the ropes. After she threw the ropes binding her legs away, she rubbed them and wondered if she could walk on them.
            "It's better then staying here." Alyson muttered and gathered her courage. Then she forced herself to her feet.
            Pain surged through her legs and she collapsed onto the ground. She could walk, but it would be extremely painful. She sighed and rubbed her legs once more. If enduring the pain meant escaping then so be it, but how would she escape?
            Alyson looked up at the barred sun-window. Maybe if she could found someway to climb to the top of the brig, she could push open the window and slid out.
            But there seemed to be no way to climb up. Alyson's eyes scanned the small notches in the wall with unease. If she climbed up the wall then she wouldn't reach the barred window for it was in the middle of the ceiling. Alyson groaned when she realized she'd have to jump for it.
            Alyson stood and limped over to the side of the wall. Giving a small cry of pain, Alyson placed her foot in a tiny notch and gripped the one above it with her aching wrists. Slowly, she began to climb.
            When she ran out of notches she found that she was only a few inches away from the barred window. Gripping the wall-notch with one hand, Alyson leaned outward and stretched her bloody hand. She gave a colourful curse when she fell short just an inch.
Alyson placed her hand back on the notch in the wall and pressed her head against the wood of the wall. What am I going to do now? she wondered. It was obvious she'd have to jump for the window, but how was she going to open it when she was clinging to it?
She chewed on her lips and a plan began to form in her mind. It was very dangerous, if she fell she'd die, if someone heard her jump she'd die… so many things could go wrong. But truly what choice did she have? It was likely she'd be killed anyway, so it was better to die trying to escape then meekly waiting for it.
            With that in mind, Alyson twisted her body so she was looking at the barred window. Loathing herself, Alyson pushed herself from the wall. She thrust her hands out towards the bars and prayed she would reach it.
            Hope and pain mixed as her fingers wrapped around the metal of the bar. Her body swung like a leaf in the wind as she gritted her teeth. Pain was searing through her fingers as the metal dug into her skin. She bit back a howl as she tried to make herself more comfortable hanging from the bars. It was futile.
            Time to begin phase two, Alyson thought. She began to swing her legs back and forth. At first, it was hard to make herself move because every movement made the metal dig harder into her skin. She ignored the pain and began to increase her tempo.
She felt the barred window begin to slide across the upper deck. As she listened to metal scrape against wood, she prayed that none of Nathaniel's lackeys heard that ripping noise. If they did, she was as good as dead.
            Finally, after what seemed like hours of playing swing, Alyson felt the gap was wide enough for her to fit through. She worked her aching fingers over to the edge of the barred window. Then she removed one hand, gripped the bars tightly with the other, and thrust it through the gap. Her now-free hand moved around the deck for something to grab hold of. When her fingers were tightly gripping a crack in the ship, Alyson allowed her other hand to move through the gap as well.
            Then she began to heave herself up. She pressed her stomach against the deck as she tried to pull herself out. She hooked a leg onto the deck and managed to pull her entire body up. She lay on the deck on her back, her chest heaving and her body absorbing pain from her escape to freedom.
            Even though her whole body was aching, Alyson felt herself smile. She had escaped! Now all she had to do was find a way off the ship and she'd be home free.
At exactly that moment, Alyson heard the heavy thud of boots against wood. Her body shot up and recoiled in pain. She strained to hear the noise again as soon as the blood had stopped pounding in her ears.
            Yes, she hadn't been imagining things. There was someone coming! Panic danced in her stomach as she hastily looked around for somewhere to hide.
As the thuds got closer to her, Alyson dived behind the artificial-gravity generator and pressed her back against the metal of it. She pressed a hand to her beating chest and tried to make her breathing soundless as the thuds finally seemed to be right besides her.
Damnit! The thought ran through Alyson's mind. She'd forget to move the barred window back into place! What if whoever was moving towards noticed it? They'd surely figure out she had escaped. Maybe if she ran for it, she could push the window back into place before whoever was walking towards her came.
            Alyson craned her neck around so she could see who coming towards her. Rough-neck the pirate swaggered towards the spot where Alyson hid, looking as if he'd had a little too much ale. Alyson could feel herself relax just a bit; if Rough-neck was drunk then maybe he wouldn't notice the gap where she had escaped.
            "Why we keep the woman, anyways?" Rough-neck muttered to himself and Alyson felt herself pale when she realized her was talking about her, "Get rid of her, I say. Last thing we want is an angry Jim Hawkins on our trail."
            She bit on her lip, so they were thinking about killing her. She had suspected as much when they had stopped feeding her. Maybe they hoped she'd starve to death. A grim smile worked its way to Alyson's lips: won't they be surprised to find her gone in the morning?
            Rough-neck walked away, muttering and swaying as he did so. Alyson listened for what seemed like hours until his sound had disappeared entirely. Then she shot to her feet and looked around her. The cost was clear.
            Alyson began to run. She knew from when she had first been kidnapped that there was a stairway in the middle of the two masses of the ship. She prayed that that lead to the smaller boats and not the galley… if the stairway did lead to the galley, well then she would probably be killed.
            She glanced around her once more before ducking down the stairs. The room she entered was dark and, to Alyson's relief, it had two boats connected to the floor.
She moved to the boat on the left side of the room and bent down to untie the rope that kept the boat secured to the floor of the ship. She cursed as her numb fingers fumbled on the rope. Finally the rope slid from the hook in the ground and Alyson threw it into the boat. Then she scurried over to the back of the room, where she knew the control panel for the floor of the room was.
            There had to be at least a hundred buttons, Alyson thought in disbelief. And there were no names on them! How was she going to tell which one opened the floor and lowered the boat free?
            So she guessed there was only one way to go about this. Alyson closed her eyes, moved her hand around in a circle, and then pressed the button her finger landed on. She gave a genuine smile when she heard the gears turn and felt the rush of cool air entering a hot room. She decided to try her luck even more and pressed the button next to the one she had just pressed. Alyson turned and watched as her boat began to lower.
            Just as Alyson moved for the boat, there was a strangled cry from the stairway and Alyson knew she had been discovered. Panic replaced her hope as she ran for the boat. Heavy boots pounded against the wooden stairs as she got closer the boot. She was almost sure she was home free when her hand gripped the side of the small boat and she began to pull herself into it.
            But then suddenly rough hands gripped her shoulders and she was being pulled away from her freedom. Alyson howled and fought. She scratched the hands the held her captive and watched with a sickening thud as her boat to freedom floated into space without her. Tears flew from Alyson eyes as she fought even harder.
            But finally her only escape disappeared from view and her body collapsed. She slumped against her capture and began to sob.
            "I told you the girl was nothin' but trouble!" Came Rough-neck's voice from right behind her ear.
            "Oy, wonder what the boss'll do now? If she keep escapin' we can't keep her around." Came a voice behind Alyson and Rough-neck.
            "I'll take her to see the boss now." Rough-neck called and then forced Alyson to turn around. He flashed her a grin of yellow teeth before saying, "You in trouble now, missy. The boss'll get ya good."
            Alyson shouted every cursed she knew at him and brought her foot back. Then she kneed him, hard, in the groin. Colourful cusses that burned Alyson's ears came from the foul-mouthed pirate. As the curses became even more vicious, Alyson felt herself flush.
            "Oh, you'll pay for that." Rough-neck hissed, pulling Alyson towards the stairs, "If that is, Captain Nathaniel doesn't kill ya first."
            Alyson thrust her chin out and pretended not to be moved by Rough-neck's words. In her mind, she decided she'd rather be forced to answer to Captain Randolph Nathaniel then to be left alone with Rough-neck.
            Nathaniel's chambers were located on the top floor of the Destroyer. Alyson's back stiffened as the door to his chambers burst open and out strode a sleep-rumbled Nathaniel, followed by the pirate that had helped capture Alyson again.
            Nathaniel gave Alyson a cool look before turning his gaze to Rough-neck, "She escape on your watch?" he asked, almost in an innocent drawl. That innocence had the skin on the back of her neck crawling. The pirate Randolph Nathaniel was not an innocent man. He was evil, wicked.
            Besides her Rough-neck stiffened as well, "Um… yeah… I mean… yes, sir, but I didn't…"
            "There shall be no dinner rations for you for three days, Rough-neck. Now get back down and patrol the deck. And keep an eye open this time." Nathaniel said, his voice losing its innocent edge.
            "But, sir-" Rough-neck started instantly.
            Nathaniel held up at hand, "Want to make it three days with no food at all, Rough-neck? No? Good. Bring the girl in and get going."
            Rough-neck growled and threw Alyson bodily into the room. She crashed into the floor and gritted her teeth in pain. As she pulled herself onto her feet, Rough-neck stormed out.
            Glancing around her, Alyson saw that Nathaniel's chambers were really no different from Jim's on the Fate. A bed pushed off into the side of the room, a desk and chair in the middle of the room, a wardrobe besides the bed, and big bay windows in the back of the room. All-in-all it didn't practically scream 'pirate'.
            "Well, Mrs. Hawkins," Nathaniel said in his innocent drawl, "looks like you're worthy of being James Hawkins's wife after all. At first, when you didn't immediately try to escape, I thought maybe James had made a mistake with you, but I don't think so now. If you hadn't made so much noise lowering the boat you would've escape. Luckily for me, Rough-neck may be dumb but he's quick."
            Alyson shot him a glare. He's handsome, she realized. She hadn't seen it before, but she saw it now. And it made her sick to now had she not known that he was a pirate and that he must likely planned to kill her, she would've been charmed by him.
            "You won't get away with this. Jim will hunt you down and kill you." Alyson bared her teeth at him, "If I don't kill you first, that is."
            Nathaniel chuckled, "I'm not so worried about you or James. You'll be tied up again soon and I'm a lot bigger then you. And as for James," A smile played across Nathaniel's lips, "he's busy with those murders on Zione."
            "You know about them?" Alyson whispered. Her face paled. Had Nathaniel been watching her and Jim? Had he been studying their every move? Waiting for the right time to attack? The very thought of someone watching over her made her sick to her stomach. But she refused to throw up in front of them.
            Now Nathaniel laughed, loud and boomed, "My dear, I killed them. Of course I knew about them."
            Alyson was going to be sick in any moment; she knew it, "How could you? They… they hadn't done anything to you…"
            The pirate captain shrugged casually, "It was simple enough to do it. You see, dear, I knew I had to get Jim away from you so I could take you. So of course I needed some big crime Jim would have to investigate. That had me stumped for months. There seemed to be no way to drag Jim away from you, but then low-and-behold I received word that five important members of Project Space-Twister where visiting Zione to try out their new machine. I saw the perfect opportunity. Killing those professors would be a blow to the Academy and they would ask their finest to investigate the murders. Thus Jim would be called. It was even better when I found out you were going to Venkar. It was to easy to kidnap you and finally abstract my revenge."
            "What did Jim ever do to you?" Alyson whispered in horror, "You knew you'd have him chasing you if you went into crime. Why do you hate Jim so much and not anyone else that's ever chased you?"
            Something twisted inside her as Nathaniel's eyes darkened. He grabbed her roughly and pulled her against him. Alyson screamed and struggled against him, trying to pry herself away.
            "What he did to me!?" Nathaniel growled in her ear, "I'll tell you what he did."
Nathaniel dragged Alyson over to the chair behind his desk. He forced her into it and she gripped the sides of the chair so hard her knuckles turned white.
            "You think your James's is some kind of wonderful hero? Think you married a man of honor? Well, I'm about to burst your pretty little bubble." Nathaniel paced the room and Alyson looked around the room. She realized in horror that there was nothing in the room she could use as a weapon if the pirate decided to hurt her.
            "Now," Nathaniel began, "even when I was young I wasn't good. My father was a pirate and so was his father before him. A whole family of pirates. It was only natural that I would as well."
            So by the time young Spacer James Hawkins showed up to track down the bad of the bad, I already had a reputation. At first, I was amused by Jim. He was the only Spacer to ever come close to catching me and he kept on going at it. I was enjoying myself."
About seven years ago, I was laying low from Jim on the planet Diedo. I was hanging out at the local pub when I saw her. Her name was Gina Rodriguez and she was a waitress for the bar. I knew I would have to have her. So I used all my charm to bring her around. At first Gina didn't want anything to do with me, knowing I was a no good pirate, but she eventually came around and I married her."
            I still pirated with my crew, but because I was now married I always took Gina with me. She wasn't pleased by my bootlegging, mind you, but she didn't say anything. I was so smitten with her that I would've stopped pirating had she only asked. But she didn't. So I kept on doing what I did."
            And then, after two years of our marriage, she gave birth to a son who we named Jonathon. At that point, I wanted to stop my crime spree but I was in to-deep and I had no other way to put food on our table. And since Gina didn't say anything about my job, I didn't stop. I just wanted to make my wife and son happy."
            And then five years after the birth of Jonathon, James Hawkins tracked me down again. At this point I was far to consumed with wife and child to bothering playing around with some Spacer. So I decided I'd rid myself once on for all of Hawkins. I had him chase me to the forest planet in the Raeford Galaxy, where I planned to kill him."
So I sent my wife and son back to our hideout, since I did not want them to see this. But somehow Jim figured out about Gina and Jonathon's ship and planted a bomb in it that would explode as soon as it left the atmosphere. Knowing it would hurt me, James planted the bomb. He knew two innocents would die just so he could get his man."
            I close my eyes and I still see the fire and wreckage that had once held my son and wife. I can still smell their burning flesh and hear their screams of pain. I knew, once I had escaped from James, that I would avenge their deaths. They would not die in vain. I would make Jim pay."
            Then only two months after that, I heard Jim had gotten married to you. I knew my chance had finally come. All I had to do was take you away from James and he would suffer as I had suffered. Weep as I had wept. All I had to do was get away from James… and you know the rest of the story…"
            Alyson's face was as white as a sheet. With shaky breath she whispered, "You're lying! Jim… Jim wouldn't do… he wouldn't… do that! He… he isn't like you!"
            Nathaniel laughed harshly, "Have you been living in a fairy-tale all your life?" he asked her, "Well, Mrs. Hawkins, I'm going to teach you a lesson in life. Everyone lies, everyone hurts. No one in this galaxy is innocent. There is only the good, the bad and the people who are used. You are in category C."
            "No." Alyson whispered helplessly.
            "Are you telling me you haven't hurt anyone?" Nathaniel asked, "Lied to anyone?"
            Alyson closed her eyes and thought of Sir Rubin of Maryland, who had once ruled the tribe of Maryland on Earth. She had killed him to save Jim, but then Sir Rubin had only been trying to save his tribe. He had died believing what he had been doing was right. Nathaniel was right, she had hurt someone.
            A laugh told her Nathaniel knew, too, "I can see by your face that you have. See, Mrs. Hawkins? No one is innocent."
            Nathaniel strode over to his door and yanked it open. A fellow pirate stood outside the door and saluted Nathaniel.
            "Take Mrs. Hawkins to the room next to mine and make sure she can't get out. Feed her all three meals from now on." Nathaniel turned and grinned at Alyson, "It will be better to kill her on our hideout planet and send her body parts to James in a box."
            "Aye, aye, Captain." The pirate drone said and moved to take Alyson from the room.
            Alyson was in so much shock she didn't even bother to fight back. She allowed herself to be dragged away and then placed in a room right besides Nathaniel's room. The room was exactly like Nathaniel's except there was only a bed and a wardrobe and there were no windows, only walls and a door.
            Once the pirate had left the room, Alyson slumped to the carpet and her shoulders shook with sobs.
            Jim didn't do that, Alyson told herself, it must've been a mistake. He wouldn't do it on purpose. Jim is a good person. She was almost entirely convinced Jim was innocent of purposely killing Nathaniel's son and wife. But Nathaniel's words still lingered in her mind.
            Everyone lies, everyone hurts.
            So she thought of the woman who had married Nathaniel and had his son. Why would she do that? Why would she endanger the life of an innocent child for a man as evil as the devil himself? She couldn't see how this Gina-person was mature. If she had agreed to run of with such a dangerous man how mature could she be. And when she had given birth hadn't the thought of her child's safety make her want to break free from Nathaniel? It would've been like that for Alyson had she been stupid enough to end up in that position in the first place.
            She pressed a trembling hand to her forehead. What was she going to do now? There was no possible way to escape now. She was trapped in this room until someone let her go… and that would probably only happen when someone came to feed her… and since she didn't have any kind of weapon she couldn't attack her feeder and free herself… or to take her to the hideout planet Nathaniel had been.
            At the thought of the planet hideout Nathaniel had been talk about, Alyson shivered. He had said he was going to kill her on the planet. And from the way he had talk, her death didn't sound painless. In fact, it sounded as if it would be like torture. And what little pieces were left of her mangled body would be sent to Jim.
            "Don't think about." Alyson commanded herself, "Jim would come for me long before that happened and Nathaniel will be put in jail."
            But Jim was busy on Zione. How would he know to look for her if he didn't know she was even kidnapped? If Seymour had died… at that thought Alyson shuddered… then no one would know something had happened to her until their week on Venkar had ended. And by then Alyson would probably be long dead.
            She collapsed onto the floor, sobbing. She felt so helpless and she hated it. She wanted to rant and scream, but she was exhausted all she could do was cry.
            Please, Jim, she thought as she slipped into unconsciousness, come and get me. I want to see you again. I want to kiss you.
            I love you, Jim, she though before she collapsed into the blackness of dead sleep.

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            That's it! All done. So whatdoya think? Stay tuned for Chapter Seven: Depression where Jim shows the aduiance why he has a repution as a mean Spacer! Until then R&R!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!

                        "If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit in my name at a Swiss bank."- Woody Allen

                                                -Lizzy Rebel