Chapter IV: The Pirate!

"What are you doing here, Blackcoat? You're wanted by every star- faring race in the galaxy," said Rick.

Blackcoat's smile grew wider, revealing the sharp points of his fangs. 'So what are you going to do, ranger-cub? Arrest me?" He laughed, with several short snorting sounds. "Not all races view my freedom-fighting ways as the Terrans. As you can see," he gestured around the bridge, indicating the garasian crew running the ship, "the Garasian Empire is very supportive of my efforts."

"So you’ve been hiding out with them. No wonder we haven't caught you yet."

Blackcoat leaped out of the command chair and smacked Rick across the face with the back of his hand. Rick flew across the room and crashed into the science station of the vessel, and lay on the floor, stunned. Blackcoat waved a fist at the semi-conscious Rick. "I was not hiding. I do not hide, spineless human. Especially from the likes of your useless Stellar Patrol. Your patrol couldn't find a supernova in a coalsack." Blackcoat ceased his shouting and returned to his chair.

Rick sat up, still amazed by Blackcoat's sudden display of temper. His head still hurt, but he thought he could stand up. He felt something warm running down his face, and reached up to touch something warm and sticky. He looked at his hand and saw that he was bleeding. His left eye hurt, and the blood was coming from that general area. He was beginning to feel a little upset about being constantly beaten up by these guys. However, losing his temper wasn't going to get him any answers.

"Okay, I'm sorry. You weren't hiding," said Rick. This appeared to satisfy Blackcoat, as he relaxed into his chair. "So what are you doing here with a garasian ship and crew?"

"Silence, cub. I'll do the asking around here," snarled Blackcoat. He placed his hands together and gazed at Rick with a cold, calculating stare. "What do you know of Ferlon?"

Rick wrinkled his brow in concentration as he tried to stanch the flow of blood from the cut above his eye. "I don’t know about a Ferlon. What is it? A company? A weapon? A new cooking school, perhaps?" asked Rick.

Blackcoat didn't answer right away. He continued to stare at Rick, and it was making Rick uneasy. Finally, Blackcoat responded, his voice calm and steady. "Ferlon is a planet. A very special planet. Do you know of it?"

Rick shook his head, then instantly regretted it. The ringing in his head returned full force, causing him to moan slightly, and his cut started bleeding again. "No, I don't know of it." His injuries reminded him of Jamie, and he looked up at Blackcoat. "Hey, why are you keeping a human woman prisoner here on the ship?"

Blackcoat smiled. "Let's just say that I expect her to be very grateful to be rescued from the garasians by a certain dashing Erscan hero." Blackcoat smiled again.

"That's disgusting, preying on her feelings like that. . .," is as far as Rick got, as Blackcoat leaped from his chair again. Rick was expecting him to attack this time, but his head was still foggy. However, as Blackcoat leaped, Rick caught the erscan's outstretched fist, and flipped the pirate into the communications console. He readied himself for another attack, but then a sudden impact of a rifle butt to the back of his head caused Rick briefly see an entire galaxy go supernova before slumping to the deck, unconscious.

Rick first felt pain, centered somewhere in the depths of his brain. Then he became aware of a soft, wet cloth being gently applied to his face and neck. He could hear the soft crooning of a voice, then realized that his pillow felt odd. He opened his eyes, and stared directly upwards at Jamie's well-rounded breasts. He quickly closed them again, and tried to sit up.

"Rest, Rick," said Jamie as she gently pushed his head back down to her thighs. He relented, not out of a desire to be in his current repose, but rather because he really doubted that he could move much. Every muscle in his body ached, and his head was still throbbing. He allowed himself to relax with his head in her lap, but kept his eyes closed. He didn’t have a long look, but it was enough to realize that he was back in his cell.

"Do you have the automed?" asked Rick. "I hate to admit it, but I'm feeling pretty bad."

"I'm not surprised. They didn't let me have it this time. What did you say to them to make them beat you up so much?"

"I'm not sure. I think I just called him a coward, and defended myself when he attacked me. The guards didn’t like that, I guess." Rick opened his eyes and turned his head so he could look past her breasts and see her face. "Jamie, the captain of the ship is an Erscan."

"Oh, Really?"

"Not just any erscan. He's Blackcoat, and he's on the top ten pirate list in every sector."

"I've heard of him. Why would he be commanding a garasian ship?" asked Jamie.

"I don't know, but I want to warn you. He's after you, waiting for you to get so lonely that you'd become emotionally attached to him if he plays your rescuer."

Jamie hugged Rick, causing her breasts to rub against his face. "Rick, You'll be my rescuer, I know it. I could never fall for an erscan."

Rick mumbled something, and Jamie sat back up. Rick caught his breath. "Thanks for the encouragement, but I don't think we're going anywhere for a while. We entered hyperspace while I was on the control deck, and we must be parsecs away from Earth by now." Rick paused to review his physical condition. The aches had subsided, and his head no longer felt like it was going to explode. He tried to sit up again, and with Jamie's help, got into a sitting position on the side of the bunk.

"Have you heard Vishy or any of the other garasians mention anything about Ferlon?" asked Rick.

Jamie shook her head. "Vishy is the only one that talks to me. I don't thing that the others understand Terran. He's never mentioned it to me. Why?"

"Blackcoat asked me what I knew about it."

"Maybe if you told them, they'd let us go. You know, some sort of trade?" suggested Jamie.

Rick gingerly shook his head. "I don't know anything about Ferlon. Blackcoat said it was a planet. I never heard of it before."

Jamie started to rub Rick's back, and as he relaxed, he began to notice her exotic, spicy scent again. So did his body as he felt a stirring in his loins. "You know, you smell nice," said Rick. "Do all calasians smell as nice as you?"

Jamie's smile warmed Rick's heart, and her hands began to explore more of his body surface. "I've heard others ask me the same thing." She shrugged. "I haven't noticed, but if you like it, that’s all that's important."

"Mmmm. That feels nice." Rick felt himself go limp as her hands massaged their way from his back to his chest, and he leaned back against her for support. She rested her chin on his shoulder, and he turned his head to kiss her. Her lips felt hot on his, and her breath smelled of the same exotic scent. They held that pose for a few seconds, then Jamie carefully pushed Rick up and got off the bunk. Rick laid back down, and Jamie climbed in the bunk, being careful not to jostle Rick.

"I've been so lonely, Rick," said Jamie, her breath hot against his face.

"Not anymore," replied Rick, and he reached up and pulled her down on top of him, the aches and pains forgotten. The door opened again, and both Rick and Jamie looked over to see Vishy in the doorway.

"Now what?" asked Jamie.

"You are summoned, female. Come with me," stated Vishy, showing no signs of being disturbed at finding the humans in an intimate position.

"Not again. Damn." Jamie sat up and moved off the bunk. She leaned over Rick and whispered in his ear. "I'm sorry. I'll be back, dear," and she gave him a quick, deep kiss on the mouth. Then she left, and Rick was alone in his cell. His aches and pains returned, and exhausted from the recent events, he fell asleep. His last thoughts were images of Jamie, the curves of her body and the warmth of her lips, but the last name that he thought of was Wilma.

Rick woke up an indefinite time later. He checked his watch and discovered that he had been asleep for seven and a half hours. His head and butt were still sore, but otherwise he felt okay. What had happened to Jamie? With luck, Blackcoat put her back into isolation. Otherwise, . . . Rick didn't like to think about the possibility that Blackcoat decided to press his desires on her. He needed to get her off the ship somehow, but first he needed to find a way out of this cell. His stomach rumbled, reminding him that some things needed to come before escape plans.

He made use of the toilet facilities, then looked around for some way of calling for food. There was a small panel with two buttons above it located in the wall just above the folded down table. Rick pressed the right one, with no results. He waited a few minutes to see if Vishy would appear, but he didn't. Rick tried the left button, and the panel opened up, revealing a pitcher of transparent yellow fluid, a cup, and three emergency ration bars.

The repast didn't excite him, but food was food. Trying not to think what the liquid in the pitcher reminded him of, he poured a small amount into the cup and cautiously sniffed it. It had a sweet odor. He tasted it, and found that it had a citrus flavor that wasn't too bad. The ration bars, on the other hand, Rick was sure of what they tasted like. He opened one, and while trying not to taste it, ate it as quickly as he could, and followed it with several large swallows of the yellow juice stuff.

He pocketed the other two bars, as one bar had a complete day's worth of nutrients and calories for an average human. The panel remained open in the wall. Rick examined the insides, and found no other openings that would indicate how the food got behind the panel. 'A panel must open up from the other side,' he thought, but there was no sign of which panel moved.

Rick walked over to the door. It was the only opening in the walls that was large enough for him to get through, provided he could get it open. There were no controls on this side of the door, but as he examined the molded door jamb, he noticed a slight gap in one of the sides. He pulled out his wallet, and removed a flat, ceramic multi- bladed screwdriver, and started to pry at the crack. After a minute of jabbing and prying, a six inch section of the molding popped off, revealing a circuit board and jumper connections.

Rick smiled as he examined the electronics. This he understood. He went over to the table and retrieved the wrapper of the ration bar. It made from a metallized plastic, and would work to jump the connections and cause the door to the cell to open. The only question now was either to wait until Jamie returned to him, or escape and search the ship for her.

She couldn't be too far away. This section of the ship was modified to carry humanoids, so she would be close. Come to think about it, Blackcoat's cabin would probably be in this area as well, as the garasian atmosphere was poisonous to them as well. Following this logic through, as Blackcoat was the captain, there must be a humanoid- compatible escape pod on board, and should be in this section as well.

Rick felt much better now that he seemed to have a grip on the situation. He went back to the door and started making jumper strips for the door controls, when he heard a scraping on the other side of the door panel. He quickly replaced the door molding, and sat down on the bunk as the door opened. Vishy appeared in the opening.

"Where's Jamie?" asked Rick.

"The female's fate is none of your concern, human," replied Vishy. "Have you decided to communicate your knowledge of Ferlon yet?"

"How many times do I have to tell you guys, I don't know anything about that planet. The first I heard of it was when Blackcoat mentioned it." Rick paused a moment, then cocked his head. "Say, why do you let someone like Blackcoat captain a ship for you? You know that he's going to find whatever you're looking for, and keep it for himself, or sell it to your enemies for twice the profit. He's never kept a bargain in his life."

Vishy's expression didn't change, but Rick got the impression that he was smiling. "This time he will."

"Why," asked Rick. "What have you got to keep him straight?"

Vishy didn't answer, and backed out of the door. The door shut, and Rick quickly dashed over to it, and pressed his ear against the door. He didn't hear anything, but he waited five minutes. It seemed to him that they weren't going to bring Jamie back to him. 'Must be jealous,' thought Rick, as he remembered her spicy scent.

He pried off the door jamb again, and connected the jumpers. The door slid open as he expected, and Rich peeked out. There was no sign of Vishy, and it was doubtful that any of the other garasians ever came into this section. He moved over to the next door, and producing his flat screwdriver again, pried the housing off the electronic lock. He made a few new contact strips, and in seconds made the connections. He pressed the activate button, and the door slid open.

Instead of finding another cell, the room was a storeroom. There were crates of all types. Rick looked them over quickly, and they mostly composed of foodstuffs and clothing. 'Probably Blackcoat's private, or pirate, stock,' thought Rick, smiling at his own joke. It occurred to him that there might be some weapons, so he started searching for an appropriate container. Everything was labeled, so it wouldn't be hard to find. However, an initial survey of the room turned up negative, and Rick started to dig behind some of the larger boxes when a large shadow blocked the light from the corridor.

Vishy was in the doorway, and he was aiming his rifle at Rick. Rick was only two meters from him, and realizing that he wouldn't have another chance, jumped the alien. Vishy tried to back out of the narrow doorway in an effort to evade Rick's attack, but Rick landed on the front half of Vishy's body. The garasian felt rough, as Rick discovered that his main body had many short, stiff hairs that felt almost like spikes. The garasian was warm, and sunk to the floor under the weight of Rick's denser body.

Rick tried to get a grip on two of Vishy's legs, but the effort allowed Vishy to squirm out from under Rick and retreat into the corridor. However, he dropped the rifle in the process. Rick made a grab for the weapon, and Vishy brought one of his legs down on Rick's hand. Rick yelped in pain and rolled away, managing to pull his hand out from under the garasian's foot, but leaving a patch of skin in exchange.

Vishy managed to gain possession of the rifle, but Rick charged in between the garasian's legs to grab the weapon before Vishy could bring it to bear on Rick. Rick felt Vishy's legs squeeze together with himself in the center, but Rick still struggled to wrestle the rifle away from the alien.

Vishy squeezed Rick, and Rick began having trouble breathing. He still fought to gain control of the gun, knowing that if he failed, it would be the end for him. However, Vishy continued to crush Rick between his powerful front legs. Rick struggled, and finally let go of the gun to try to press the legs apart so he could breathe, but his strength was gone, and as Vishy gave a final, vicious squeeze, Rick went limp, and fell to the deck as Vishy released him.

To Be Continued...