Last time Icy, Darcy and Stormy finished their hazing and became full members of The Shadow Riders. Malaketh then told the witches of his plan to rule all, involving thirteen Stones of Power. The Shadow Riders already have two, and the third one is at Alfea. On with the show!
Chapter 5: No Need For A Suitor
"How much further to Caladan?" asked Bloom. "We should be there in about an hour," said Lucinda, "We're making good time." "We should," said Tecna, "Considering that we're traveling at 1,350 times the speed of light." "Only 1,350 times the speed of light?" asked Sky, "I thought you said this ship was fast."
"She is fast," said Amanda, "I customized the engine myself." "Well let's see what this hunk of junk can do," said Brandon, "Let's see how fast she it." "Don't you insult The Night Rider!" exclaimed Amanda, "Don't you dare insult my baby!"
"Easy cousin," said Beauregard, "If Stella's boyfriend wants to see how fast The Night Rider can go, we'll show him. Increasing velocity to 1,500 times light speed!" Brandon and Sky were thrown back into their seats from the sudden acceleration. "Now we're talking my language!" said Lucinda.
"My pour excitement addicted cousin," said Amanda, "How I wound up with them as family I'll never know." Stella meanwhile was looking more than a little green. "Are you alright?" asked Layla. "I don't do so well when traveling at high speeds," said Stella, "I prefer teleporting."
"Ah, but there's a problem with teleporting from one planet to another, little cousin," said Lucinda, "A planetary teleportation device as a limited range of 60 light-years. You'll have to hop from planet to planet to get to where you want to go, if where you want to go is on one side of the galaxy and you're on the other."
"I'm convinced," said Brandon, "Your ship is pretty fast." "I agree," said Sky. "You call this fast?" said Ryoko, "I've been of garbage haulers that have gone faster." "Did you just compare my baby to a garbage hauler?" demanded Amanda, "Did you?" "Well," said Ryoko, "I guess I did." "I have the distinct feeling that you shouldn't have said that, Ryoko," said Sasami.
"I'm just saying that I've seen faster ships," said Ryoko, "That's all." "Oh really?" said Amanda, "We'll just see about that. Nobody insults The Night Rider and gets away with it. Beauregard, kindly increase velocity to 1,750…no, 2,000 times light-speed." "With pleasure," said Beauregard eagerly as he throttled up on the accelerator lever, "Strap yourselves in, it's gonna get bumpy."
The speed of light is approximately 186,000 miles per second. Multiply that by 2,000 and you're traveling at 372,000,000miles per second, and at that speed, it's more than a little bumpy. The ship was shaking from the shear force of the speed it was traveling at. "Should we be shaking this much?" asked Flora. "Don't worry," said Lucinda, "The Night Rider can go well over 7,000 times light-speed easily without any danger. Do you wish to go that fast?"
"NO!" exclaimed Stella, "Don't go any faster! I beg you, we're going fast enough!" "Well it doesn't matter," said Tecna as she checked her scanner, "We're almost at our destination." "I told you she's a fast ship," said Beauregard, "Decreasing velocity to sub-light speeds. Get ready for a little jolt."
It was more than a little jolt as the ship exited hyperspace and slowed down. "We're here," said Beauregard as the ship entered orbit over a planet that was mostly ocean, "Planet Caladan. Everyone here in one piece?" "I'm fine so to speak," said Bloom who was rubbing the back of her neck, the force of the deceleration had caused some whiplash.
"I'm okay," said Sasami, "But it looks like Ryo-Ohki lost her lunch. I told her not to eat so many carrots before we left." "You okay?" Brandon asked Stella. "I'll be alright," said Stella, "I just need some air." "Well you'll have all the air you want soon little cousin," said Lucinda, "We'll be landing in less than five minutes."
"I called Roderick before we left Magix," said Stella as the ship landed, "He'll meet us at the space port main terminal." "How do I look?" asked Sasami nervously, "Am I presentable?" "You look fine," said Ryoko, "You're gonna knock him dead." "We're a few minutes early," said Musa, "So we'll make sure you look your best for Roderick." "More than your best," said Stella eagerly, "I guarantee you're gonna look fabulous!"
As they exited The Night Rider, there was a loud noise that sounded like metal falling on concrete. "What was that?" asked Beauregard. "A section of the hull plating fell off," said an annoyed Amanda, "And it's the same damn section that fell off the day before yesterday! I told you that I needed proper welding materials to fix it! But no, you said that super glue would hold it!"
"I never said such thing!" said Beauregard. "Yes you did," said Lucinda, "I was there and you told Amanda to use glue until we could afford to buy welding metal." "What are they talking about?" asked Bloom. "Let's just say that when my cousins left the court of Solaria," said Stella, "They left without any support from their families. They have to earn their living." "You see, Bloom," said Sky, "Lucinda, Beauregard and Amanda are Outlaws; free travelers with only their freedom as their guide."
"If money is the problem," said Sasami as she pulled out a credit card, "Then allow me to pay for the repairs. Consider it payment for transportation, with a huge tip." "Sasami," said a very happy looking Amanda, "You are truly a goddess among mortals, you're all right in my book!" "She says that to anyone who pays for repairs," said Stella, "Now come on, you need to get ready to meet Roderick."
Ten minutes later found Bloom, Flora, Musa, Tecna, Layla, Sky and Ryoko standing with Sasami while Stella and Brandon went to find Roderick. "Just breathe normally," said Musa. "You try breathing normally," gasped Sasami, "When you're about to meet the man you might possibly marry." "I know who I'm marrying," said Musa, "His name is Riven; you'd like him."
"I know who I'm marrying," said Flora. "Me too," said Tecna. "Same here," said Bloom. "Not me," said Layla, "I'm not quite ready to find a boyfriend yet." "You're not missing anything," said Ryoko, "Some boys may act nice, but let me tell you this; men are pigs, period." "Hey!" exclaimed Sky. "Present company excluded of course," said Ryoko.
Just then Stella and Brandon returned with a man slightly taller than Sky. He was about 20 years old with short blond hair with a hint of red. He hand one green eye and one blue. "Everyone," said Stella, "This is my cousin Roderick. Roderick, these are my friends from school. And this is Princess Sasami of Jurai."
"How do you do," said Roderick as he kissed Sasami's hand, "My Lady." "I'm pleased to meet you, Roderick," said Sasami, "Stella has told me much about you." "I'm sure she did," said Roderick. "Why don't we leave them alone for a while," said Stella, "So they can get to know each other better."
"I meant to ask this earlier," said Bloom to Stella while Sasami and Roderick talked alone on the other side of the room, "Just how are you related to your cousins?" "It's easy to be confused," said Stella, "You see, my mom has three sisters: Lucinda and Beauregard came from one, Roderick came from the second, and Amanda came from the third. We all share the same grandparents on my mom's side."
"So you also enjoy gourmet cooking," said Roderick, "My parents think I'm crazy to enjoy getting my hands dirty in the kitchen." "My mother thinks I'm a natural chef," said Sasami, "Yet my sister, Ayeka, she can't even boil water, and she's the Empress." "Well you don't have to be a genius at cooking to rule an empire," said Roderick, "And you don't have to be a 'Modern Primitive' to enjoy the wonders of nature. I study animals because it make me happy to do so."
"Listen, Roderick," said Sasami, "If there's one thing my parents taught me is never to lie to a man you like, and I do like you. If I don't get married soon my sister will be removed from the throne of Jurai. I love my sister very much, and if an arranged marriage is the only way she can stay Empress, then I'll take one for the team, so to speak."
"I thank you for telling me the truth," said Roderick, "I thought this was some plot from my parents to get me hitched. But I understand your predicament. If an arranged marriage is what is needed, then I'd be willing to go along with it." "You mean it?" asked Sasami. "Yes," said Roderick, "I do like you, Sasami of Jurai. I see no reason why we can't at least be friends."
"But there's more," said Sasami, "Since my sister can't have children of her own, we'll be expected to produce a royal heir to the throne. Are you okay with getting married for the sake of having a child?" "Well we wouldn't have to have a child right away," said Roderick, "That sort of thing takes time."
Meanwhile Beauregard and Lucinda had reached Bloom, Stella and the others. "We got the parts needed," said Beauregard, "And Amanda is finishing the repairs as we speak." "I don't mean to insult your ship," said Brandon, "But why not save up to get a new one?"
"That's a reasonable question," said Lucinda, "It would have been better to get a new ship, but not for us. I found The Night Rider when she was about to be scrapped. I bought her; my brother and I along with Amanda fixed her up and got her flying again. That ship means something special to me, and I wouldn't trade her in for anything, not even for a Juraian Battleship." "That's a bold statement," said Riven.
"So how's it going with the little princess and Roderick?" asked Beauregard. "I think we may have a winner here," said Stella. At that time Beauregard and Sasami shook hands and walked back to Stella and the others. "We decided," said Sasami, "That if his parents are okay with it, and my sister is okay with it, we'll do it." "Yes!" exclaimed Stella, "Who's the greatest match maker in the universe?" "We're looking at her," said Musa.
"So what's the next step?" asked Flora as they headed back to the ship. "Well my parents are currently on holiday," said Roderick, "But I have the number of the hotel they're staying at. It shouldn't be too much of a problem to talk to them about Sasami and me." "You can talk to your parents with the space phone on The Night Rider," said Lucinda.
"After that," said Sasami as they reached the ship, "We'll head to Jurai to meet with my sister." "Oh great," moaned Ryoko, "Back to little miss perfect, Ayeka." "What is your problem?" asked Layla, "All you've done is moan and complain." "I'm bored that's what!" exclaimed Ryoko, "Being the bodyguard of a princess is so boring!" "You miss being a space pirate," said Bloom, "Don't you?" "I do sometimes," said Ryoko, "I just wish something exciting would happen."
Just then Tecna's computer beeped, 'You've got mail!' "It's a message from Faragonda," said Tecna, "Oh my gods! Icy, Darcy and Stormy are attacking Alfea as we speak!" "What!" exclaimed Bloom. "That's what the message says," said Tecna, "The witches just teleported inside the campus and started blasting at anyone they saw."
"Then why are we just standing around here for?" asked Bloom, "We need to get back to Alfea right now!" "Amanda!" shouted Lucinda, "Are you finished repairing the hull?" "Just finished," said Amanda, "Do we need to go anywhere?" "Yes indeed," said Beauregard, "We need to be back at Magicx like five minutes ago."
"I hope you two don't mind coming back with us to Magicx," said Stella, "We need to stop the witches before they hurt anyone." "It's no problem," said Sasami, "Roderick and I will stay out of danger." "Not me," said Ryoko eagerly, "I've been itching for a fight." Everyone them boarded the ship, which blasted back into orbit seconds later. "Amanda," said Lucinda into the intercom, "Rev up the reactor, and prepare to accelerate to 4,000 times light speed."
"Roger that!" said Amanda, soon after that the engine output increased. "Engaging hyper-drive," said Beauregard, "Accelerating to 4,000 times light-speed!" "That should get us back to school in under ten minutes," said Tecna as she and the others secured their safety straps. With a violent shudder, the ship jumped into hyperspace.
After eight and a half long minutes, The Night Rider emerged from hyperspace above Magicx. "We'll land just outside your school," said Lucinda. "That's great," said Bloom. she, Stella, Flora, Musa, Tecna and Layla had already transformed into heir Fairy outfits. "I sent a sub-space message to Riven, Helia and Timmy," said Sky as he and Brandon readied their energy swords, "They'll meet us there."
The ship landed just outside the Alfea gates. As Bloom and the others exited the ship, she saw to her horror, smoke rising from the school library.
The end of chapter 5. Next time Bloom and the others fight Icy, Darcy and Stormy, while Ryoko shows what she can do. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!
