Ecstasy of Gold - Ch. 1

He ran across the rooftop as fast as he could, sprinting with an almost Olympic stride. The sky above was almost jet black with billowing storm clouds that he knew would break at any second. He grit his straight teeth. He knew if it started to rain, he wouldn’t be able to hear them.

They were the silent wind of death, scurrying along the roof behind him. The only way he could track them was the almost silent clicks of their boots against the concrete roof. He had to focus everything on hearing them, and the rain would cover them. They didn’t have the same advantage. Even if they were blind, they could track him by sound. His boots slammed against the roof with thunderous thuds. His breath might as well have been a screaming jet engine pushing a heavy load. To top things off, he had a set of four large canisters on his belt that clanked together like a chime as he ran. Still, they were too valuable to let go of. He’d just have to make due.

Suddenly, he could smell it. The sky opened up, and in a flash, it was a monsoon. He could feel the rain dragging down his dark green poncho and almost knocking his black fedora off his head. The roof sucked down his feet like he was running through jelly. He decided on a course of action instantly. He skidded and turned to face them. He jumped backwards, barely dodging a katana from the first assassin. The katana skimmed across his poncho, slicing it as easily as it went through the air. That’s when he got his first good look at the assassin.

The assassin was from a group called the Assassins’ League. Because of this, they looked exactly the same. Their armor was identical, only a small piece that covered their chest and back. Their boots were light weight and made of thin pieces of armor with fabric stretched between them. They had gauntlets on both of their hands that were designed the same way. The rest of their body and head was covered in a skin-tight fabric that looked like dull steal. Over their faces, they had a metal mask with a narrow red visor across their eyes. Otherwise, it was entirely featureless and smooth.

The assassin jumped back, staying on the balls of his feet and preparing for another lunge. The man drew a large revolver from his hip, ready for the assassin when he suddenly realized there were two pairs of clicks following him as he ran. In a blink, he knew what was happening. Without looking, his rested his revolver on his shoulder and fired. In a crack of thunder, an assassin behind him was shot through the neck. He gasped for breath as he sailed through the air, his katana slipping out of his hands and flying past the man. He grabbed the katana by the handle and swung, barely blocking the lunge of the other assassin. He dodged as the assassin swung again, grazing the short hairs of his beard.

“Impossible!” The assassin yelled, swinging at him again. The man blocked the attack and aimed his revolver point-blank at the assassin. The assassin kicked it away as he flipped back, sending it sailing through the air. It landed on the roof, creating a column of water in the pool that had formed.

“Damn…” The man growled, running away from the assassin and grabbing the gun. He knew the assassin was only a step or two behind him, but to even turn his head to be sure would have been suicide. He ran towards the edge of the roof as fast as he could, feeling the prick of the blade in his shoulder as he neared the edge. He leaped with all his might, sailing over the street bellow. He threw all his weight around, facing the faceless assassin behind him. He could tell through the mask he was smiling, his katana ready between his hands for the death lunge. It was unavoidable on the landing. Still, he grit his teeth and fired a pair of shots. One bullet slid up the blade of the katana, slicing into two parts and blasting into his fingers.

The first shot knocked up the blade of the katana, reflex on the assassin’s part, clearing the way for the second. The second shot drilled through his visor, hitting him square between the eyes. His body went lifeless, crashing on top of him as he landed on the roof of the next building. He groaned and pushed him off. He stood up, picked up his hat, and pulled a cross on his necklace out of his shirt. He kissed it and tucked it back in. Not far from him, there was a rusty door. He opened it slowly, and walked it in. He kept his revolver out, ready for a fight. But in this building that looked the same as all the others, he found a surprise.

The outside of the building may have been the plain concrete block the government on this planet mandated, but the inside was gaudy. The walls were covered in faux wood paneling with gold detailing. Instead of the simple dome lights mounted on the ceiling, it had large, intricate chandeliers. It had ornate, over-stuffed wood furniture, and heavy black velvet drapes that didn’t let the light in. And to truly make things heaven, there were a number of truly gorgeous women walking around. They were all wearing bustiers, guarder belts, thongs, fishnet stockings, and thigh high leather boots with stiletto heels. He smirked.

“No way am I this lucky…” The girls screamed, noticing him when he spoke.

“You’re not from the state, are you?” One of the girls asked. The man shook his head, spun his revolver slightly, putting it back in its holster. It was large and a well-weathered military machine, but he was graceful with it.

“I’m a stranger to this planet just looking for a warm and friendly place to hang his hat.” He took his black fedora off and ran his hand through his soaked dark blond hair.

“Well then, you’ve found the right place.” A girl with pink hair swaggered over to him, hiking up her breast slightly as she did. “You’ve stumbled into the Hidden Grotto. We’ll be as friendly as you can afford.”

“Well, money’s not a problem.” He smirked slightly, looking down the girl’s bustier. “You’ll do, and your friend in red over there.” The woman in red almost skipped over to them.

He put his hands on the small of their backs, leading them off to a private room. They giggled, laughed and talked back and forth, but he just tuned it out. He didn’t care what they were talking about, either. They could have been talking about how they were going to drug and steal all of his money, but it didn’t matter to him. He just wanted to relax and forget everything that just happened. He had been on the run from the pair of assassins for days and days now, and as long as he got some fun and some sleep, they could have all of his money.

“No, you’ll want a better room than this one for the money you’re going to pay…” The pink-haired one said. “This way.” She led him down the hall. As they walked, they kissed him all over his face and his neck and asked him questions, but he stayed silent. They wouldn’t get any information out of him. He was too careful. He knew that anyone he told anything to would be found by the assassins’ league and tortured for even the smallest scrap of information. He planned to stay mostly silent for the next night until he saw two men coming out of the same room.

“Do you let…voyeurs use your rooms?” He pointed as he spoke.

“No, that’s Constance’s room.” The girl in red leather said. “…poor girl’s the only one of us that Jeremiah makes…do doubles like that…”

“You don’t want her, sir.” The pink-haired one said. “She’s just a girl, you want a woman.”

“Yeah…”


Constance was gasping desperately for breath, like a fish out of water. Her dress was up around her waist, the top half of her dress was almost as low. She had long, flowing silver hair that was fanned-out on the bed under her. Her skin was as pale as the sunlight that was desperately making it through the clouds. She had a plain black dress and white panty hose on. The panty hose were torn and had a number of runs in them, one of a many signs of the horrors she was just put through.

“God help me…” She whispered out as she started to sob and cry. She could feel her tears burning down her cheeks. She didn’t really know why she was crying, not sure if it was because of the pain she just went through or the fact that god never answered her cries for help.

As she cried, a man came into her room, standing over her on her bed. Even though he was short, he towered over her. She was five-flat or shorter, with nothing particularly large about her body. He stroked her body, still looking her over.

“How are you, dear? Did they hurt you?”

“It always hurts…” Constance cried. She hated when Jeremiah looked into her eyes. She knew a part of him enjoyed seeing the sadness that filled her dark grey-blue eyes. Still, he was the only person he’d let her see regularly, so he had to take the opportunity to vent. “They…they were trying to hurt me…crushing me between them…”

“Well, Constance, they paid extra for that.” Constance turned her head away from him. She hated that men got a sick thrill out of hurting her. “Don’t worry. I’ll make you feel better…” Jeremiah unbuckled his belt and lowered his pants.

“No…please don’t…” He knelt down over her, but she scurried away. “NO!” She hit the wall. He laughed and was on her in a flash, pinning her arms back against the wall. “Please don’t…Not again…”

“I love it when you beg and struggle…” Constance cried as she felt him stab into her. Her neck retched and she screamed in pain.

“HELP! Someone…someone help me….” Her cries slowly died down. She knew it was pointless to scream for help. Her room was soundproof, and even if someone could hear, they wouldn’t help. She knew it. “Please stop…” Jeremiah laughed and was about to mock her when he heard a click of a gun and felt a barrel pressed against his head.

“The girl asked you nicely to stop.” The blond haired man from earlier said through grit teeth. He pressed his simple massive, dull gunmetal gray revolver against Jeremiah’s head. Jeremiah didn’t recognize what such an archaic weapon was, but he knew it was a gun and that’s what mattered.

“What the fuck are you doin’?! I’ll have you know, I…” Jeremiah plunged his hand into his coat, which was the last mistake he’d make. The blond man pulled the trigger, sending a splash of blood across Constance’s face. She gasped as Jeremiah fell lifeless on top of her. The blond man pulled him off her, dropping him onto the ground. The blond man wiped some of the dark red blood off Constance’s pure white skin. He felt like he recognized her, albeit extremely vaguely.

“Why’d…why did you do that?” Constance stammered out, quickly fixing her dress so he wouldn’t see her exposed anymore. She pulled her dress down, flattening her dress out before she pulled the top half up.

“He was going for a weapon.” The man nudged him with his foot slightly. “Dumb move.”

“No…No, no, no…” With herself covered, Constance got up and went over to Jeremiah. She slowly reached inside his coat and pulled out a group of folded-up papers. She was trembling slightly, handing them to him. As he read, she summed it up for him. “I’m…I’m his slave, like most of the women here…Everyone here’s someone’s slave…”

“He was still raping you.” He read the papers. He was surprised Constance was sixteen. She looked much younger to him. He figured that was the appeal.

“I’m his slave…” Constance spoke to the floor. “He’s allowed to rape me…He’s allowed to beat me…He’s allowed to do whatever he pleases as long as he doesn’t kill me. That’s why he’s allowed to use me for prostitution…”

“I don’t care…” He took a cigarette from his pocket and flicked open a lighter. He took a couple of quick puffs then a long drag before he spoke again. “Rape is rape. And he deserved a lot worse death than just a bullet to the brain.” He kept the cigarette in his mouth, holding out the slavery papers and burning them with his lighter. Constance smiled and hugged him tightly.

“Thank you…” She kissed him on the cheek. “Though now…I’ll be sold to someone worse…like one of the other pimps here…Probably Rickie…He’ll make me…”

“I’ll find you a safe place to stay.” He interrupted her. He knew what pimps at places like this made their girls do. “Get your stuff together, and we’ll…” As he spoke, Constance looked down at herself. She could see all the filth and grim all of her ‘clients’ had left on her. Then, she felt Jeremiah’s blood drip down across her eye. She gasped.

“I have to shower first…” He shook his head.

“Miss Constance, we need to get out of here NOW.” He said, looking down at Jeremiah. Constance shook her head, starting to pull of her bloody clothes.

“No, no…have to get clean, have to get clean…” Before he could say anything else, Constance pressed herself up against him. She kissed his neck, running her hands over him. “I’ll…I’ll make it worth your…”

“Don’t.” He put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her away slightly. “Shower, but make it quick.” Constance breathed a sigh of relief. She liked him, thought he looked great, but she just was afraid of having to sell herself again. Still, she watched him as she walked back to the bathroom, thinking about him the whole time. He walked over to the door, making sure it was locked. It had a pair of deadbolts on it and a chain, which he did before he moved some furniture in front of it. “Make it quick!” He shouted to her in the shower.

“As quick as possible.” Constance got into the shower, making sure the water was the perfect temperature before she did. She stood in the water, letting it wash over her. She sighed, feeling the water trace the gentle curves in her body. She waited briefly, enjoying the feeling of her pain washing away before she got her soap. She started lathering every inch of her body obsessively. After she did, she started washing her long hair slowly and carefully to make sure it would stay perfect. She knew she was taking far too long, but she didn’t care. Long, hot showers were the only simple pleasure she had in life. She walked out of the bathroom, wrapping a towel around herself as she did.

“What took you so long?” He said, sitting up from the bed. “We have to move, now. If we get caught, I’ll go to prison and you’ll…”

“I…I’m sorry…” She bit her thumbnail. “You can dress me if you’d like…” She dropped the towel to the ground, bearing all for him. The only way she knew how to please anyone was sexually, and he knew it. He shook his head, throwing her one of her dresses.

“We don’t have time for this. Get dressed.” Constance clutched her dress to her chest.

“When we’re safe, I’ll….I’ll do whatever you want to pay you back for all this…” The blond haired man put his hand under her chin and looked into her eyes.

“Listen,” he kissed her deeply, “from now on…you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, beautiful.” He let go of her. “Now get dressed.”

“Did you mean what you said?” She asked as she started getting dressed.

“Yes, you’re free now.”

“No…The other thing…” She finished getting her dress on, straightening it carefully. “Do…do you really think I’m beautiful?”

“Yes, but let’s get into that later.” He looked around the room. It was mostly empty besides the same furniture that was out in the hallway. He knew it wasn’t hers. “Is there anything you want to take from here?”

“All I have is…” Constance went over to her dresser and pulled out a data crystal. “These pictures…on this crystal are all I have…that and my clothes.”

“Well, get your pictures and come on…We’ll have to leave your clothes.”

“But…my clothes are…” He covered her mouth.

“Look, I only had enough money on me to buy a couple of hours with you. When the time runs out, they’ll come in here, find our friend with the head-piercing there, and it’s over.” Constance hung her head. “I’ll buy you new clothes, whatever you want.”

“Even just plain white panties? Not thongs or…”

“Whatever. You. Want.” He said slowly and strongly. In the back of his mind, he started counting to ten, knowing it would keep himself calm. He wanted to make sure she didn’t know how frustrated he was getting.

“Nine…Ten…” Constance counted with his thoughts. “I’m making you really mad…I’m very sorry…”

“Only because I’ve had a bad day.” He lit another cigarette. “You’re a telepath?” Constance nodded. “Then you know why we have to get moving.”

“Alright…I’ll go with you…” The man put his poncho over Constance. “What’s this?”

“It’s raining. And it will help disguise you.” He put his fedora on her. “Try to tuck your hair up under that.” Constance nodded and did what he said. She worried that she was damaging it, but she’d wash it carefully later. As soon as she was finished, he pushed her along. She looked back at him as they walked. He was wearing a button up shirt with cuffs and a collar. It was simple and faded, but in one piece. He had a leather vest on over it and black khaki cargo pants. He had heavy black boots and a gun belt with his revolver on his left side and four grenades on his right. She didn’t understand what they were. She had never seen a gun that didn’t fire a bright yellow bolt of plasma, and the grenades looked different from anything she had ever seen.

The blond man managed to get Constance out of the building without anyone noticing. She stopped in the empty alley and gasped. The man looked around, then turned around calmly.

“What is it?”

“Clouds…I’ve never seen REAL clouds before…” She pointed at the sky. “They’re beautiful…”

“Never?” Constance nodded as he pushed her along. “Never’s a long time.”

“All I remember…of anything is the brothel…My first memory is…Jeremiah…experimenting…with my body…” Constance smiled and stretched out her arms. “I’ve never been outside before.”

“Sorry the weather was so bad for your first time…” He pushed them back into an alley as a police car went by.

“Don’t be…This is beautiful…” She turned back towards the building in a blur. “Marcia just found Jeremiah…”

“Great…” Suddenly, there was a loud roar and a blast of wind that knocked the fedora off Constance’s head. The man caught it and put it back on her head as a massive ship flew through the rain overhead. Constance looked up again, watching the ship flying over.

Even though it dwarfed them, it was still only a small-to-medium-sized cruiser. It was simple design, with a long, tall, and slender rectangular hull. Faceted, wing-like pylons had engines with the same rectangular design. It had a militaristic look to it, and the man followed it all the way down with his eyes.

“Is that a military ship?” She pointed at the ship as it landed.

“It was a Mjolnir-class. It has many aftermarket upgrades to it.” Constance gasped and covered her mouth. The man hated it, thinking she was panicking because she saw someone trying to sneak up on them.

“Is it a pirate ship?”

“Definitely.” He flicked his cigarette butt away.

“I’ve never seen a pirate ship before!” Constance shouted without realizing how loud she was. The man almost covered her mouth again, but just gestured for her to stay quiet.

“Yeah, from the sounds of it, you haven’t seen much before, so…” Constance nodded, getting his thoughts. She followed him as he led her through the back alleys and streets on a seemingly random path. She knew he knew what he was doing, or at the very least he thought he knew what he was doing. That was good enough for her. No matter what happened with him, it was still better than staying at the brothel.

In the ship, called the Ecstasy of Gold, the captain was laying down in a hammock on the bridge. He had baggy pants and a sleeveless t-shirt on, with a bright Hawaiian shirt on over that. He was a well-preserved fifty, with grey wisps at his temples. He was letting the auto-pilot take care of the ship, and letting his hammock swing gently back and forth as he played the ukulele. He was happy until he realized how low the ship was coming in. He rushed over to the controls, pulling up on them and swearing quietly to himself. He stopped, picking a wired handset from next to the controls.

“TASHA!” He yelled over the intercom. “TASHA, I need you in here, NOW!” He went back to swearing endlessly in inaudible whispers. Tasha came running onto the bridge. Unlike the captain who had tan skin, hers was a deep, chocolate-brown color. She wore a loose-red jumpsuit that was smeared here and there with grease, though she was clean herself.

“You yelled, Dad?” She said sarcastically, putting her long curly hair back into a ponytail for the work he no doubt had. “Let me guess…something’s broken again?” He nodded.

“The damn auto-pilot’s out again!”

“No, it’s not.” She pointed at the clouds out the window. “It’s stormy out.”

“So?” Tasha groaned.

“Dad, we have to come in under the clouds. The EoG’s autopilot doesn’t like risking a lightning strike.”

“Alright…” He reluctantly let go of the controls, seeing that they were doing all the work, “but if we get fined for flying too low again, it’s coming out of your share, Tasha.”

“I…” Tasha was about to tell him, for what could be the ten-thousandth time, that they couldn’t get fined for obeying weather restrictions. It was a common problem with Captain Jessie Jack. He often treated being captain too much like vacation instead of a duty. Still, when things got tough, he was there for the ship, and he was her adopted father. “…love you, Dad.”

“I love you, too, Tasha.” He got up and put an arm around Tasha, walking with her down the hallway. Side by side, Tasha was the same height as him. They were both a little taller than six feet. Tasha actually was about an inch taller than him. “You know, just because you’re turning eighteen here in a month doesn’t mean anything has to change. You can stay on the ship as long as you want to. You don’t have to rush into anything, like…”

“I know, I know…” Tasha had gotten the ‘there’s nothing wrong with being a virgin’ speech since she hit puberty. She was getting tired of hearing it. “You know, Ariis is trying to convince me being a virgin past a certain age could literally poison me…” She smiled as he groaned. “Of course, she’s volunteered as the only person worthy of deflowering me…Using the whole ‘Princess of Akyllis’ thing to…”

“Tasha…” He patted her arm. “Do me a favor. Don’t sleep with her or any other woman for that matter…”

“You got it…” Tasha stopped dead in her tracks. “You know, I better make sure you didn’t damage the controls, or Frank’s going to be furious.”

“Okay…” Jessie stopped dead in his tracks, too. He turned around so he could see Tasha rushing down the hallway. “I get it, I brought up a stupid subject…”

“Don’t worry about it, Dad.” Tasha turned around, walking backwards back to the bridge. “I’m really just going to check the controls, okay?”

“Alright…” Tasha went back to the bridge and over to the control panel. She rubbed her eyes and shook her head. She sniffed and cleared her throat, sitting down next to the controls and getting her tools out. She knew that the controls had to almost certainly be fine, but it didn’t matter. It was just busy work to distract her from everything.

She finished as the ship landed in the dock. Large robotic clamps grabbed the ship, holding the ship in place. She packed up her tools and went to take them down to engineering. She was one of about two dozen mechanics the ship had. She could take them to her room. They were top of the line, the very best tools money could buy. She should be paranoid, but she knew she didn’t have to worry about them being taken. Especially given the fact that while the ship was essentially a small city in space, there were still only a number of people that would take it. Basically, she’d get them back before she knew they were gone.

As she walked, she moved the heavy weight of her tool box to her good leg. Her ‘bad leg’ was her left leg. It was complete cybernetic up to her hip. Because of one of her last growth-spurts, the cybernetic leg was slightly shorter than her real leg, causing her to wobble as she walked. As she went, she passed an ornate heavy metal door. She walked a little faster as it opened. Deep red light poured out of the doorway, and Ariis came out.

She was the princess of one of the many tribes of Akyllis, a high-gravity of the planet. Because of this, she was pure muscle and over seven feet tall, a goddess. Her quarters replicated the light, look, gravity, and just about everything else they could replicate about the planet. No one else among the crew would really go into the room with her settings. It was too much stress for their hearts and muscles to be active in the higher gravity. She had short, rust-red hair, brilliant ice blue eyes, and golden tan skin. The only scar she had on her perfect body was a large scar over her left eye. Everything she wore had an armored piece to it, tradition on her home planet. Though armor was a tradition back home, she often wore only a breastplate and nothing else under it to show off her body. She was on Tasha’s back before she knew it.

“Ariis…” Tasha groaned. She knew what was coming, and was tired of dealing with her.

“You know, on my home world…” Her accent was thick, almost Russian, making it hard for people who didn’t know her to understand her. Needless to say, right now, Tasha wished she had never met her. “…it is a horrible dishonor for a girl to reach womanhood with her maidenhead intact. It’s a sign of shame.”

“I’m sure…” Tasha turned her head away from her.

“My tribe’s age is fourteen, the child bearing age, but yours seems to be eighteen. I’d hate…” Tasha stopped, shaking her head.

“Fourteen? You lost your…” She saw how revealing Ariis’ clothes were and panicked. She had a fine white fabric hanging around her waist from a gold hoop of a belt. It had an intricate design etched into it.

“Virginity, yes…” Ariis put her arm up so that Tasha couldn’t back up, “…when I was thirteen years of age.”

“Isn’t that a little YOUNG?”

“No…” Ariis put her other arm up, blocking Tasha in. Tasha was shaking slightly, panicked that she was now trapped. She knew she couldn’t hold off Ariis, since Ariis could literally crush her. “It is better to lose it early to someone you love, than to risk capture in battle and lose it to an enemy soldier.” Ariis put her leg between Tasha’s legs, lifting her up with it. Ariis had Tasha’s feet almost a full foot off the ground.

“No…” Tasha gasped and tried to push her away, but it was no use.

“Natasha…” Ariis pressed her ample chest against Tasha. Tasha gasped in pain, Ariis’ breast plate digging into her chest. Ariis gently caressed the side of her face with her palm, an extremely intimate gesture on her home world. “Please, give me the honor of being your first…”

“I…” Ariis kissed her passionately and started to unzip her jumpsuit. She slipped her hand underneath it, which Tasha desperately tried to stop. Tasha grabbed her wrist and tried to stop her. “I…I like men…”

“So do I.” Ariis said with a smile, kissing her on the neck. “But women can be enjoyable, too…”

“Please stop…” Tasha started to cry slightly. She was embarrassed and humiliated being out in the hallway, helpless while Ariis ravished her. She started to tremble and sob, which was finally enough to make Ariis stop.

“You really don’t…” Tasha closed her eyes tight and nodded. “Then who else on the ship is worthy enough to…”

“I…I don’t know…I just know I don’t want to…not now…not here…not with you…” Ariis lowered her to the ground and zipped her jumpsuit back up.

“I apologize…” She ran her hand through her hair. “I get lost in your brilliant emerald eyes. Believe me, I wouldn’t have…if I didn’t think you were a goddess…”

“Whatever…” Tasha wiped the tears away from her eyes. “Just don’t…without my permission…again…” Ariis nodded.

“I hope you’ll have the good taste not to mention this to the captain…” Tasha nodded.

“Believe me, I don’t want ANYONE to know about this…” She grabbed her tool box and rushed down the hallway. She wanted to put as much distance between her and Ariis as she could, but Ariis quickly caught up with her using slow, long strides.

“At least allow me to help you with your task. It’s the least I can do to apologize…” She took the toolbox from her. She pretended it was heavy, almost letting it hit to the ground. Tasha huffed.

“You don’t have to pretend for me…” Ariis nodded and easily lifted the box, resting it on her right shoulder. She walked along side Tasha as she went down the hall. Tasha made sure Ariis walked in front of her. She didn’t want to risk a sneak attack from her again. She watched her carefully. Ariis walked with a swagger, swinging her hips from side to side. Tasha hung her head and rubbed her eyes. “Ariis…you’re not wearing anything under that dress, are you?”

“I know enough to not be ashamed of my body.” She turned back to her. “You shouldn’t be either. I know every man on the ship would go to bed thinking of you.”

“I’ll…take that into consideration…”


One of the crewmembers on the pirate ship, Karen, was walking towards one of the airlocks to let her cat out. She was a timid brown haired woman with freckles across her face framed by large glasses in front of her brown eyes. Her clothes were the usual mess they always were, nothing expensive and everything either torn or stained. Truth of the matter was she’d be pretty if she tried. But she never would. It took too much effort she used elsewhere, or at least that’s what she believed. It had made her unpopular among most of the crew except her few close friends, but she didn’t care.

She was a scientist who signed on with the EoG to search the galaxy. Pirate ships went a lot of places the military ships wouldn’t dare go a lot faster, so many scientists actually traveled the universe with pirates. She was use to life on the ship, but her cat wasn’t. She opened the airlock and knelt down. She kissed the cat’s ear and scratched its fur.

“Don’t get lost like you did last time, Honeybell.” She whispered in the golden-furred cat’s ear. “We were lucky to find you the last time.” She walked through the airlock and put the cat down on the ground. The cat scurried off into the city, disappearing into the unknown landscape of concrete and glass skyscrapers. She smiled, knowing it was just happy to be back on a planet.

She started walking back into the ship, closing the airlock as she did. She listened to the gears whir, closing the door until she heard a loud clank. She jumped around, panicked. She saw the blond man holding the door open. He was barely managing to stop it, panicking Karen. She screamed and hit the alarm.

“Wait…” He groaned as the door finally stopped. Karen screamed again as he walked towards her, running into a wall.

“SOMEBODY! HELP!” She screamed at the top of her lungs. “RAIDER!”


Tasha and Ariis were walking down the hallway after dropping the tools at the engineering section. Ariis was still flirting with Tasha, though Tasha was trying to stay on subject. She wanted to know what she could do to make herself look hotter, though most of Ariis’ ideas were a bit extreme for her. She wasn’t as shameless as Ariis was.

“What if I just…” Tasha started to say her idea when Karen’s scream rang though the hallway.

“RAIDER!” Karen screamed again as the alarms rang through the ship. Ariis put her hands on Tasha’s shoulders, stopping her dead in her tracks.

“Stay here!” Ariis shouted slightly, turning and running down the hallway. Tasha decided that this was going to be a time she didn’t understand Ariis and followed her. She stopped, opening a hidden gun cabinet in the wall and pulling out a rifle. She put a large battery pack into it, running as fast as she could in a vein attempt to catch up with Ariis. At a full speed, Ariis could run almost a mile a minute in normal gravity.


The blond man held out his hands to show he was unarmed. Karen was panicking, almost hyperventilating over the whole thing. He decided to keep his distance, not wanting her to get anymore upset.

“Look,” He said calmly, “I’m not going to…”

“Don’t touch me!” She screamed. He growled slightly.

“I’m not going to lay a…”He heard a change in the wind, quickly dodging a blinding fast punch from Ariis. It past just in front of his chest, grazing his shirt. He jumped back as she swung again, but he ducked under it. He took the opportunity to give Ariis a sharp uppercut to the stomach, but it was like hitting a brick wall. Ariis laughed, swinging both of her fists down and smashing them into his back. She lunged forward with her knee, hitting him square in the chest, launching him backwards. He drew his revolver and aimed forward as Ariis grabbed him by the neck, holding him against the wall. He had the end of the barrel pressed against her forehead.

“I could snap your neck with a flick of my wrist…” She snarled at him. Both ignored Karen as she scurried away.

“And my death-twitch will turn your head into a canoe…”