Galaxy of Empires- Space Pirates Episode #1 (4 page)

Read Galaxy of Empires- Space Pirates Episode #1 Online

Authors: Bruce Marcom

Tags: #comedy, #adventure fantasy, #fiction action adventure, #fiction science fiction adventure, #comedy action adventure, #pirates stories, #fiction comedy adventure

BOOK: Galaxy of Empires- Space Pirates Episode #1
4.98Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

Cogg says defensively, “Well, he is put
together with bandages so what did you expect?”

Che questions, “Who pissed off the Machine
People? Why do we have terminator bots shooting at us?”

Meek thinks for a second, “Must have been
that shipment of defective parts I sold them.”

“Geez, Meek, is there anyone in the galaxy
you haven’t scammed or ripped off?” Che interrogates.

“I am sure there is, but I just can’t think
of anyone at the moment.”

Python and Gothica enter the bridge. Chad
Wick turns around and sees Gothica.

“Who is the hot-looking arachnid babe,” Chad
Wick inquires.

Che turns around thinking Chad Wick is
sexually harassing her again.

Che says, “Do I need to web you to the wall
again for a few hours?” But then she sees Gothica and says,” Oh,
someone else Chad can sexually harass. She is a warrior, Chad. You
better be good or she will cut your head off with one of those four
swords on her back. “

“I am Gothica.”

Meek says, “We are transporting three people
to Laughing Skull and then to the Wolfkin home world.”

“Wolvies….Great. Don’t we all have wanted
posters there?” Che asks.

“Yup.”

“How much are we getting considering we
launched without cargo. Oh, and that means the cloaking device is
not hooked up either,” Che says with annoyance.

“Five thousand bars plus expenses.”

Che whistles, “Wow! That is a lot just for
passage. Do we have to kill anyone?”

“Nay, just drop off.”

“Nice.”

Python takes a seat at the tactical display.
Gothica goes over to the captain and says, “You are cute for a
human.” She runs her hand through his hair.

Meek says, “Oh, I am just old and fat,”
attempting to be modest, but liking the attention. He smiles at her
and she smiles back.

Intercom comes on and Eve says, “Gothica,
come to the sickbay.”

Gothica pokes Meek in the stomach, “I like my
mates big.” She winks as she leaves the bridge. Meek is feeling all
glossy eyed about now.

Che remarks, “She is still deciding.”

“Deciding?” Meek ponders.

“Whether she is going to eat you before or
after she mates with you. In any event, I would avoid any dinner
invitations if I were you. The warriors like the plump ones,” Che
adds.

“I knew it was too good to be true,” Cogg
chuckles.

They all start laughing at Meek’s
expense.

“Just my luck,” Meek frowns.

Eve inters the bridge and says, “Sean and Doc
will be okay. Sean has a busted leg, and Doc was just grazed. Doc
is attending to it.”

Meek says, “Good to hear. This is Lady Eve,
one of our passengers, our employer.”

“Well met,” Eve says, standing there looking
at them, “I hope you fair better than the last crew of this
ship.”

Chad asks, “What happened to the last
crew?”

“I killed them all,” Eve says flatly. “I will
be in the sickbay.” She walks off the bridge.

Che says with concern, “Geez, where did you
dig her up?”

“No crap. She gives me the willies,” Cogg
remarks.

Python adds, “You have no idea.”

Capt. Meek, “Yeah, don’t get on her bad side
unless you want to end up a mangle headless corpse in some
corridor.”

“I have a bad feeling about this one,” Chad
says with alarm.

“Yeah, I would think twice about sexually
harassing that one, Chad,” Che says with sarcasm.

They all bust out laughing.

“Ho-ho, ha-ha,” Chad responds, sticking his
tongue out at Che. Che winks back.

***

In sickbay, Doc has put a bandage on her
shoulder and fixed up Sean’s leg.

Doc says, “Your leg should be okay in couple
weeks. It is setting fine.”

“Thanks, Doc, it’s weird as I am the one
usually doing the patching, he-he.”

“I noticed your degrees on the wall in here.
You were a doctor once?”

“Yeah, I specialized in virus research.”

“Oh, a researcher.”

“Yeah, until my family fell out of political
favor and was assassinated. I have been on the run since then.”

“That is unfortunate. I am a doctor who does
research and application of general medicine to alien races. Newly
discovered life forms are what I study the most.”

“Interesting.”

“Doc...help me,” says a voice from outside
the sickbay door. Gothica and Doc run outside door and see Eve
collapsed on the floor.

“Get her up on the table.” They pick her up
and set her on the table. Doc grabs her arm to look at it and her
hand drops back to the table as a huge piece of skin comes off. Her
arm has rainbow-colored metallic scales and her nails are metallic
talons. She screams as her body glows a bright yellow as huge
chunks of skin melt away from her face. The ships shakes violently
as she yells out in extreme pain.

“You were warned about using your powers, and
you have accelerated the mutation. You must fight it or you will
destroy the ship. Get her clothes off.”

Bone spikes pierce through her hair and go in
a row down her neck and spine. The next glowing tremor removes all
of her skin. Eve’s body is all metallic scales with any rainbow
coloring. Her eyes increase in size to big yellow dragon eyes.

“What the hell is she turning into?” Sean
demands.

Doc does a body scan on Eve. Both of them
look at the scan.

“I have never seen anything like this,” Sean
exclaims.

“No one has. Hmm...,” Doc continues to
examine the scan.

“What are those on her back?” Sean
questions.

“Turn her over.” They both grab her and turn
her over slowly.

Sean says, “What the...those are....”

“Metallic wings and a tail it appears,” Doc
interjects. “She is changing into a new species of Space
Dragon.”

“What!” Sean asks. “How is that even
possible?”

“It isn’t normally, but she was created in a
laboratory. Looking at these scans, she will be a Morphic Space
Dragon. Morphic means she will have the ability to shape change
into either a bi-pedal or full space dragon form. Morphics are
extremely rare, like 1 in 100,000 out in the wilds of space. The
more interesting thing is all Space Dragons are born with one
color, and this determines their abilities. Since she was created
with the DNA from many different types of Space Dragons, she is
rainbow-colored. According to the reports from the lab where she
was created, they could never duplicate the process again after she
was created. She is one of a kind. She still has some human DNA
left in her, but it disappears more and more every time she uses
her telepathic abilities. If she loses control, she will change
into a full Space Dragon whether she wants to or not. That will be
very inconvenient if she is in a ship or a building.”

“No kidding. That would destroy whatever
structure she is in. She does look beautiful though, as I’ve never
seen anything like her, or any Space Dragon of any kind up
close.”

Eve opens her eyes and says in a raspy voice,
“Doc, report.”

“Bad news and good news.”

“Bad news first.”

“Your mutation has sped up quite a bit. Your
human DNA is almost gone. Your body is changing.”

“Good news?”

“Your body has almost completely changed into
a bi-pedal space dragon. Your wings and tail will be full size by
the time we reach Laugh Skull.”

“Great. I just bought some new designer
clothes, damn it.” Eve says with sarcasm. She sits up.

“Mirror?”

Sean rolls out a body-size mirror.

She gets up and parades in front of the
mirror and twirls around slowly.

“What the hell? Why are my wings and tail so
small?”

“They are growing about an inch an hour, so
relax. You should grow about another foot taller, and your wings
will be about 2.5 meters in length, each with a 5-meter wing span.
Your tail will grow maybe 2.5 meters or more. Looking at the files
on Morphic Space Dragons I got from the Consortium does not say
much about the bi-pedal tail size.”

“So I will be able to fly?”

“Yeah, but you need to learn like every other
Space Dragon does. You will need to learn in both forms. Flying in
bi-pedal form is much different than Space Dragon form. That’s why
we need to get to our destination as soon as possible. You don’t
need to wear clothes unless you really want too. Not mention we
don’t have clothes that would accommodate your wings and tail.”

“Hmm.... Okay, I look like a disco ball with
wings and a tail. That shiny reflective thing will blind people I
am talking to.”

They all chuckle.

Sean says, “You have been watching too many
of Capt. Meek’s earth movies from the 21st century.”

“I have some of my own,” Eve informs.

“I think you look awesome, Mom. it’s so cool
having a Space Dragon for a mother,” Gothica says with glee.

“Well go and cut some holes in some of my
clothes. Wait, nay just the cloaks, as the clothes won’t fit any
more.”

“We can try different things, stick with
leather, as cloth won’t going against metal scales.”

Eve says, “True.”

The two get up and leave the room. The two
doctors stay and keep examining the scans of Eve.

***

Later on the bridge, they crew is trying to
decide whether or not to take a shortcut through Elemental space or
go the longer route.

Cogg says, “I have no idea what caused the
ship to shake, Boss.” About that time, Mcloud’s leg pops off and
hits the floor.

Meek sighs and says, “Someone put Mcloud’s
leg back on.” He continues to mumble profanity about the topic to
himself.

Chad picks up the leg and pops it back
on.

“Thanks, Chad. You look mighty cute in those
pants,” Mcloud says in a deep male voice. Che is laughing her head
off at the front of the cockpit.

“Okay that is becoming quite disturbing. It
is starting to weird me out,” Python grumbles.

Cogg says, “Look guys, until I get some more
parts for Mcloud that is just all I can do with him.”

Mcloud says, “Capt. Meek, we can save about
one week if we cut through Elemental Space or do you want to go the
long way?”

“Take the short cut,” Meek says with
confidence, then he thinks to himself,
this is
coming from an android made from spare trash compactor
parts.

“Che can you double check those calculations
just in case,” Meek asks.

“Sure, he-he.”

“Captain, I assure you I am functioning just
fine. May I rub your butt cheeks with some hot body oil?” Mcloud
adds.

Meek mumbles some other obscenities. There
are some chuckles among the crew.

“Looks correct, Captain. I am changing
course,” Che informs with a snicker.

“Very well proceed.”

***

Down below in Eve’s room, Doc, Gothica, and
Sean are talking with Eve.

“Can you flap you wings they look full size
now,”Sean asks.

Eve says, “Yeah, I grew more than a foot, I
am 2.5 meters tall. 8 feet. Wings are 9 feet each, so I have about
a 5.48 meter wing span. Tail is 2.5 meters.”

“You got metal bone spikes all the way down
from your head to the tip of your tail and on your shoulders,
elbows and knees too,” Gothica adds.

“According to these records from the
Consortium, you are much bigger than any other bi-pedal Morphic
Dragon ever discovered. But there has not been that many so, it is
hard to say. I am wondering how big your Space Dragon form will
be,” Doc interjects with true interest.

“Yeah, when we get to Dragon territory, I
hope I can find an intelligent Space Dragon to answer all my
questions,” Eve says in a serious tone.

“Well, you still have a little hair left it
is falling off as metal scales replace it,” Sean informs.

“Mom, your claws are long, so it might be
hard to shake hands with people. I am sure your nail kit won’t work
on those suckers,” Gothica teases.

Eve laughs, “No kidding. Gimme that
hammer.”

Doc gives her a hammer sitting on a desk in
the room. Eve swings hard and hits her leg and the hammer’s head
breaks off and falls to the floor.

“I didn’t even feel that. These scales are
better than any armor that is manmade, I bet.”

Doc says, “You’re probably right.”

“I feel physically much stronger as
well.”

Sean says, “You should be. Could probably
tear through most manmade walls or doors.”

“Your PSI strength has gone up tremendously.
I created a new scale just for you. The normal scale goes up to 20.
My new scale does up to 40. You are a 35 at least in this form. In
full dragon form, it will be higher than that, I bet,” the Doc
concludes.

“Wow, really. That is useful. I guess when
the Element Empire was trying to create a weapon, they had no idea
how I would turn out—and to think they thought they could control
me like some pet. Looks like the joke is on them. Those wankers…I
going to kill them all someday,” Eve assures herself.

“I am going to check on the crew,” Sean
declares.

Eve replies, “We should all go up there;
boring here.”

They all go into the corridor and head up to
the bridge. Eve can barely fit through the doors. They enter the
bridge as they crew turns around and sees Eve in her new state.

Python says in amazement, “What the
heck?”

“Woah...what happen to you?” Cogg
shrieks.

“She is a Morphic Space Dragon, only one of
her type,” Sean announces.

Meek looks at her and replies, “I have never
heard of a Morphic Space Dragon.”

Doc says, “They are extremely rare and can
change shape back and forth from a bi-pedal form to full Space
Dragon Form. She was created in a lab, so she is mutating into a
Space Dragon rather than being born one. She is unique, because
Space Dragons are born all one color and that color determines
their abilities. She is rainbow-colored because she is made up of
many different species of Space Dragons.”

Other books

The Violet Hour by Katie Roiphe
Best Place to Die by Charles Atkins
Hawaii by James A. Michener, Steve Berry
All In by Molly Bryant
Where I'd Like to Be by Frances O'Roark Dowell
Moving Mars by Greg Bear
The Viking's Defiant Bride by Joanna Fulford