The Dragon Beckons

The Dragon Beckons


The Histories

        Year 2150:  Mars is colonized by an international group of volunteers via a self-contained ecosystem called Thera.
          Year 2210:  The globalization of Earth’s governments becomes a reality led by President Ashley Mondale.  Many religious zealots and anti-government groups fear this and flee to Mars.
         Year 2246:  Mars suffers civil unrest due to the dense population and diversity of beliefs of the only city, Thera.  Earth decides to send a peace keeping military group to quash the unrest and to assert their rights of the minerals and the taxation of Mars.
         Year 2304:  The people of Mars rebel against the occupiers from Earth and instate their own monarchy led by King Yvik von Baromistram.  The rebellion lasts for ten years.
         Year 2314:  King Yvik officially takes the throne of the Kingdom of Thera.  Peace lasts for 35 years due to King Yvik’s policies of tolerance to all beliefs and the expansion of the Kingdom of Mars to four more colonies; Gurdiz, Al Mara, Solomine and Herazi.
         Year 2349:  Earth begins the Jupiter Project to colonize the moons of Jupiter.  Earth also begins special ops incursions into Mars territory to spread unrest.
         Year 2398:  Earth completes the colonization of the moons Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.  The Kingdom of Thera captures a few of the operatives from Earth and learns of Earth’s intent to conquer Mars.
         Year 2415:  Mars strikes first and mounts a grand assault on Earth.  The war between Earth and Mars rages on for three hundred years.
         Year 2715:  The war between Earth and Mars has left both nation shells of their former glory and rich, influential, men dubbed the “Neo-Shoguns” rise to power.
         Year 2728:  The old governments are dead.  Earth is now ruled by Shogun William Bachter and his clan.  They have claimed Venus and Mercury as part of their territory.  Mars is ruled by Shogun Vyncynt von Zymir.  They have claimed the Jupiter colonies and Saturn as their territory.  A faction of the old Mars government had been building a space station orbiting Neptune.  Shogun Gorm “The Dragon” rules there and has claimed Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto as his territory.
         Year 2932:  As population rises space stations begin to pop up everywhere and territory and resource battles take place constantly.  As the territory wars continue it gives rise to warriors for hire dubbed “Star Ronin”
         Year 3001:  The economy crashes and with no money to pay them the “Star Ronin” split into two groups.  The Ronin with some loyalty to their Shogun employers become a specialized armed force known as the “Shogun’s Arm”.  The rest of the Ronin that felt more loyalty to money became dread pirates plundering anything they can get their hands on.
         







Chapter I
Patience is Virtue


         “Come on Captain…How much longer are we gonna have ta wait?  Me trigger finger’s gettin’ twitchy.”
         “Patience, Banger, patience.” 
         “But Cap…”  Banger’s voice is shot down by the cold blooded stare of his Captain.  The Year is 3008 and a battle ensues among the warring shogunate factions of the Bachter Clan and the Zymir Clan.  Sitting patiently on the outskirts of this battle is the Luckless; a ronin star ship waiting, like a lion, to pounce on a weak or maimed ship.  The captain of the Luckless is a feared war-hero gone rogue named Lugh Llawyn, better known as Captain Lugh the Long-Arm or Lugh the Spear.  Among his crew of 50 he found only four worthy to talk to;  Banger the Scot (who’s actually Irish), a demolitions specialist and dreadfully deadly at hand to hand combat, Twitch, a fourteen year old girl who curses like a sailor and fights like a tiger, Fish, which despite his drinking problem is a top notch pilot, and Bullocks a man who knows no fear.  Of course these are not their real names, but once you are part of the crew your old name is burned and the ashes are thrown into space; A dramatic ceremony that ends with the mass consumption of alcohol.  Some of the crew follow the Captain because of fear, some follow because of his merit as a warrior, but these four don’t follow at all for they too are ronin and true ronin follow no man.
         The Captain burns with ambition as the flashes of explosions and tracer bullets reflect from his green eyes.  Calm and collected, his crossed arms irradiate confidence while the scars that cover his face tell stories of the man’s experience.  The black of his beard is nearly absolute save for the splotchy hints of red that show only when in the sunlight.  The Captain’s cutlass hangs low from his waist and his pistol is snuggly tucked within his belt.  The cutlass was not only used as a weapon but as a symbol of status.  It had once belong to the The Dragon himself and was given to the captain as a token of his unrivaled skill and as payment for his duty.  This payment was found to be lacking so Lugh the Long Arm took The Dragon’s ear as well before he went rogue.  He wears it around his neck for luck.  His clothes and the clothes of the crew is an eclectic mix of different clan designs and styles with bits of torn fabrics sown together out of necessity.
         Banger being the warmonger that he is chews his lip with the anticipation of the captain’s order.  Right before he started to beg one of the ships takes a massive hit and breaks formation to retreat.  Banger’s face looks like a starved wolf as he shoots a glance toward the captain.  “Well...”  Lugh the Spear, the cool as stone captain of the Luckless, grins. 
          “Fish?”
         “Aye, Captain?”
         “Take us in fast.”
         “Aye, Aye, Captain.  Full Speed!” 
         “Banger?”
         “Aye?”          
         “Prepare the men for boarding.” The smile on Banger’s face couldn’t have been bigger. 
          “Aye, Cap’m!”
         “And go wake up Bullocks and Twitch!” Banger was nearly at the end of the hall by the time the words left the Captain’s mouth.
         

Chapter II
The Frying Pan

         The boarding crew stands ready at the main hatch, waiting for the Captain’s arrival.  Bullocks and Twitch both look half asleep so Banger decides to have a little fun.  No one could see the look on Twitch’s face as Banger’s hand firmly grasps her butt.  Twitch spins around with the look of hell upon her face and a butterfly knife pressed firmly against Banger’s crotch.  Banger nearly laughs.
         “What’s wrong, lassie?  Not accustomed to the touch of a real man?”
         “You touch me again, you Scottish prick, and I’ll have your balls as earrings.”  Twitch replied with no humor intended but a few of the crewmen found it so.  Banger laughs until the pressure of the blade became a little too hard for his liking.
         “For God’s sake, Bullocks, get yer crazy bitch sister off me.”  Bullocks looks at Banger with bloodshot eyes, then. 
         “Back off, Twitch.”  Never taking her eyes off of Banger, Twitch obeys her older brother.  “But the next time you wake me up after three hours sleep I’ll cut your balls off myself.” 
         “Aye, you can try.”  Banger says with a hand rubbing his crotch “I don’t usually fancy hittin’ women but the next time yer sister dreatens me manhood…well, let’s just see to it doesn’t happen again.  And for the hundredth time you stupid girl, I’m Irish, not Scottish!” 
         “An asshole is what you are.”  Twitch deftly closes her knife and puts it away.  “Keep your hands off me.”
         “Alright, lassie.  Just a bit o’ funnin’.  No harm intended.” 
         “Captain on deck!”  The words coming from one of the deckhands stops all interaction as the crew immediately snaps to attention.  Captain Lugh strolls casually up and down the ranks for inspection.  He stops at Bullocks and Twitch.
         “It’s good of you to join us.”
         “It was an eventful night, sir.”  Bullocks says unapologetically.
         “Well, it’s about to get even more so and I need you sharp.  Are you two ready?”
         “Ask Banger, sir.”  The Captain’s eyes look over to Banger who gives a wolfish grin.
         “Aye, Dey’ll be fine, Cap’m”  Captain Lugh looks back to Bullocks.
         “Very well.”  The Captain rubs Twitch’s head, messing up her short blond hair, and she smiles.  Apart from her brother, he is the only one that she lets treat her in such a familiar way.  “You all know the procedure but I’ll go over it again.  First squad, go after any guns and ammo you can get your hands on, and then get back here quickly.  Second squad, grab anything of value.  Banger, Bullocks, Twitch, and I will be going to the bridge, if we’re lucky, we might be getting another gunship.  If not, then there should be trade route information in their computer that could lead us to a big payday.”  The crew started to rumble at the thought of a big hit.  “Remember, this is a warship, there WILL be a fight, so stay keen.  Move in fast and hit them hard.”  A voice interrupts from the intercom. 
         “Ladies and gentlemen, this is your pilot speaking, we are going to be experiencing some turbulence, so I recommend you…”  BOOM!  Half of the crew hit the ground while the other half held on to whatever was close.  “…hold onto something!”  The cannons barrage throws the crew back and forth as they grow ever closer to their prey.  While the men of the Luckless wear a serious look upon their face, Captain Lugh the Long-Arm smiles big.
         “Get ready men!  The fun is about to start!”
         
Chapter III
The Fryer

         “Captain!  We’ve gotta move!”  Bullocks screams over the sounds of gunfire as he sporadically sticks his head out from behind the corner of a corridor and takes a few shots himself.  The bridge is directly down the hall but is heavily guarded.  Twitch, who is directly behind Bullocks with her back against the wall, looks to the captain for orders.  She receives none, but notices that Captain Lugh is fiddling with something and whispering to Banger.  Lugh turns, gives Twitch a wink, and hands her his weapons.
         “Ceasefire!  I surrender!  This is the Captain of the Luckless!  I surrender!”  The Captain’s voice echoes loudly down the hall.  The gunfire stops, only to be replaced by the pompous sound of the captain of this ship.
         “Lay down your weapons and show yourself!”  Lugh calmly leaves his cover with his hands behind his head.  Twitch nearly jumps out to pull the Captain back.
         “Cap..mmm”  Banger grabs Twitch and covers her mouth.
         “Shhh…get ready.”  He whispered into Twitch’s ear as he points to the two grenades in Lugh’s hands, pins tied to the back of his shirt.  She smiles, pulls out her pistol, and hunches down, ready to pounce.
         “I must say, Captain..?”  Lugh pauses for the captain to respond.
         “Pierce.”
         “Captain Pierce, you and your men are a force to be reckoned with.  I clearly underestimated my opponent.”
         “Don’t try to talk your way out of this, Long-Arm.  That’s right, I know who you are and I know of the bounty put on your head by “The Dragon” himself.”  Lugh looked surprised, all the while getting closer and closer to Captain Pierce and his men.
         “Oh?  How much is that now?”  Lugh had always been curious how much he was worth to The Dragon.
         “Three million dead, eight if alive, and believe me, I want to squeeze every penny out of your sorry hide.”  Lugh’s face drops in disappointment.
         “Eight, you say?  Damn, if I’d known that earlier I would’ve turned myself in.”  Captain Pierce and his men all started to chuckle.  Lugh suddenly stops about eight feet from the unit.  “Well, gentlemen, I’ve only got one thing to say…”  A huge grin crosses his face.  “NOW!”  Lugh throws the grenades, which he had already pulled the pins and timed perfectly to explode on target. Six men are instantly killed by the blast and two are wounded. Bullocks, Banger, and Twitch all charge down the corridor guns blazing, screaming at the top of their lungs, killing the remainder of the standing men; All while Lugh charges Pierce with nothing but his bare hands.  The eyes of Captain Pierce bulge as Lugh the Long-Arm strangles the life from him with such ferocity that even Twitch couldn’t watch the vicious attack.
         “Woooweee!  Ye’re a madman, Cap’m.  Even had little Twitch jumpin’ in her booties.”  Banger laughed.  Twitch solemnly returns Lugh’s weapons with her head down in shame.
         “Have you no faith in your captain, Twitch?”  Lugh said while re-equipping his gear.
         “I…I’m sorry.  I just…”  Lugh chuckles and gives Twitch’s head a rub.
         “Thanks.”  Is all that Lugh says as he walks up to the control panel, leaving Twitch with a blushing face.  As Bullocks calls a few men to take the wounded to the ship as prisoners Banger sneaks up behind Twitch.
         “Awww, do our lassie have a crush on the ol’ Captain?  How precious.”  He says with his hands clasped together and his eyes fluttering in a cliché love pose.
         “Fuck you, Banger.”  Twitch says as she walks over to Bullocks to help with the wounded.  Banger laughs heartily and makes his way to the front with the Captain.
         “I’ve told ye once, and I’ll tell ye again, taking such a young lass on board with us is bad news, and bad luck to boot!”  Lugh ignores him as he concentrates on the numerous buttons on the console.  “Well, Cap’m, do we have a ship or no?”
         “Captain!  We’ve got a problem!” Fish’s static laced voice comes through the communicator.  “We’ve got another ship coming in on our bearing.  I think it’s one of The Dragon’s ships.”
         “The Dragon?  What the hell is one of his boats doin’ here?”  Banger remarks in surprise. 
         “I think the ex-captain Pierce made a call before we even attacked.  Damn.”  Lugh pulls the communicator to his mouth.  “All men return to the Luckless as fast as you can.  Fish, if the ship gets too close take off without us.”
         “Aye, Captain” 
         “Bullocks, take your sister and get out of here.  You too, Banger.  I’ll get what I can here and follow.” 
         “All due respect, Captain, but no.  We’re with you…till the end.”  Banger says what the rest are thinking and it shows in their face.  Lugh was never a man to force another man’s destiny.
         “Very well…”  Lugh takes attention back to the console.  Fish’s voice comes back through.
         “Sorry, Captain, but we’ve got to go.”
         “Go then, don’t worry, we’ll be in contact soon.”  Lugh, Bullocks, Twitch, and Banger all watch out of the bridge window as the Luckless detaches and flies off,  while the enemy ship quickly approaches.  The symbolism of the moment is not lost to them, salvation lost and damnation gained.  They know that they may all die soon and the only words spoken were Banger’s.
         “Well, anyone up fer a game o’ cards while we wait?”
         

Chapter IV
The Dragon’s Fang

         The prisoners are taken to a large cargo bay where their wrists are bound and bodies stripped nude to alleviate the possibility of any concealed weapons, of which they found many; Twitch had her trusty butterfly knife, Banger had two pistols tucked in his boots, and Bullocks had a grenade in a secret inner pocket sewn into his pant leg.  Captain Lugh is the only one with no hidden dangers.  A crewman of the enemy ship lines them up, cold and naked, for inspection.  A tall man enters the room wearing a tight black uniform similar to the other crewmen.  The many symbols that adorn his uniform spoke his rank clearly, not to mention his hat that had a large feather protruding from it.  The feather gleams brightly, shifting colors with the exposure to light. 
“Welcome, honored guests.”  The man says as he walks back and forth in front of the prisoners.  “We have been expecting you for quite a long time, especially you.”  He stops and stares Lugh directly in his eyes.  “You may call me Captain Blythe and this ship… this ship is the Sanguine Sun.  It’s a maximum security prison ship and is now your new home.  Please, follow me.”  A long, beckoning, finger accompanies these words.  They obey, but only because of the numerous guards that follow close behind. 
Bythe leads them to an elevator that takes them up many levels.  The doors finally open to a large area that looks like a throne room.  The party is marched up a long, red, carpet that is laid between large metal columns.  Torch bowls hang from the ceiling, giving the room an archaic glow.  The sight makes Twitch forget her nudity as her large dough eyes soak up the immaculate vision.  She spent most of her life on the Luckless and has no knowledge of nobility, or the dwellings of nobility.  Banger is less impressed by the novelty.
“Are we meeting a king?  If so, then I feel a tad bit underdressed.”  Though his comrades found this to be somewhat amusing, the guards did not.  Banger’s laugh is cut short by a fist to the gut that drops him to his knee.  Violently, the guards pull him back to his feet.  Like what seems to be an eternity they finally stop fifteen feet from a large metallic throne surrounded by candelabras.    Six short men in blood colored robes enter and circle the group.  Shortly after, an old, humpbacked, man waddles out from behind the throne.  His hair is long and white, as well as his long, rope-like, goatee. 
“All kneel before Gorm the Dragon!”  And all do, all save the prisoners, whom defiantly stand.  The Dragon takes a seat and all stand once again.
“Lugh,”  The Dragon says with a serpent’s hiss.  “how good to see you again.  Oh, but what an unworthy state you are in.  How embarrassing…”  Banger glances over, gives Twitch a look over, and gives her a wink.  The look on Twitch’s face shows that she clearly does not approve.
“I don’t know, could be worse.”  The grin on Banger’s face is quickly erased by a kick to the knee, which once again, leaves Banger on the floor.  This, Twitch does approve, and grins big while the guards continually kick him.  Bullocks stares forward showing no sign of weakness, the sign of a true warrior.  Lugh, on the other hand, stares right at The Dragon with a murderous fire in his eyes.  The Dragon sees this and laughs.
Gorm stands and walks toward his prize.
         “My Lord, this is all that the Long-Arm had on his person.”  Blythe hands Lugh’s sword and necklace to The Dragon.  Gorm stares at the ear and the sword, the very sword that took his ear. His sword, stolen from him from this bastard he now had in his grasp.  The Dragon’s gaze drifts from the sword to Lugh’s face.  A face covered in scars, eyes full of wraith, and a sickeningly confident smile.  He brought his face inches away from Lugh’s.
         “You’re mine now, Lugh Llawyn.  You’re mine.”  Lugh quickly lurches forward and bites down hard on The Dragon’s long, sharp nose.  Blood gushes from Lugh’s mouth and it takes three guards to pry him from Gorm.  “Hold him!”  He yells, wielding the sword in one hand while holding his bleeding nose with the other.  “Nice try, but I take the trophy this day, Long-Arm!”  The Dragon takes the sword and proceeds to pry out Lugh’s left eye.  Screams fill the throne room, but none belong to Lugh.  Gorm stares into the eye and smiles.  “Throw him into the Pit!  Take the clown and the soldier to Block Gamma, and as for her…”  Gorm strokes his beard and licks his lips.  “I have plans for that one.  HeheheheHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

Chapter V
The Dragon’s Tongue

         Bullocks and Banger, still naked, find themselves on another elevator, escorted by three guards.  They both know what the other is thinking.  Only three men, in close quarters, with no backup, now is the time to act.  Bullocks makes his thoughts clear with a glance and a small nod, and Banger acknowledges with a smile.  With a quick elbow to the face, Bullocks takes the guard that stood behind him down quickly.  Banger swings his fists, still bound, behind him and hits the guard so hard that it throws him into the guard that stood in the middle, knocking him right into the waiting arms of Bullocks.  Bullocks wraps his arm around the guards neck and finishes him with a quick jerk. 
         “Woo, dat was fun.”  Banger says as he squats down and begins to undress one of the guards. Bullocks quickly hits the button to stop the elevator.  “He’s a bit of a small fry, but it’ll have ta do.”
         “This one stinks.”  Bullocks responds, face wrinkled.
         “Pickers can’t be choosers, laddie.  Here.”  Banger cuts his bonds with a knife he found and then throws it to Bullocks.  Now clothed and armed with a couple of pistols, they decide on what to do next.  They know one will have to take elevator to the bottom to find the Captain and the other will have to go out through the roof and climb back up the shaft for Twitch.  Bullocks obviously tries to go up after his sister, but can’t fit through the emergency hatch.
         “Dammit!  I won’t fit, you’ll have to go for Twitch.”
         “Aye, I told you you were getting fat.”
         “I’m not in the mood for your shit, and Banger…”  Bullocks voice took on a terribly serious tone.
         “I know, I know.  I’ll bring her back safe and sound.”  Banger takes his finger and marks an X on his chest.  “Cross me pirate heart.”  With that Bullocks boosts him up and through the little door in the roof of the elevator.  “Good luck, brother.”  Banger reaches his hand down to Bullocks’.
         “You, too.”  Bullocks reciprocates and the two arms lock in a sign of brotherhood. 
         “Luck?  Don’t forget, I’m fucking Irish.”

~
         Alone, naked, and cold, Twitch shivers in a small, dark room with no windows or doors.  The only light comes from a flickering fluorescent bulb on the ceiling.  She desperately searches for something sharp to cut her hands loose, and to protect herself, when the time comes.  As she crawls around the floor like some rabid beast, a part of the wall slides up.  Standing amidst the invading light is a beast of a man.  Twitch scrambles to the corner of the room, teeth bared. 
           “Hello, little girl.”  A putrid grin crosses his disgusting face.  “I’m the Lord’s pet trainer.  Don’t worry, you’ll get used to the pain.”  He enters and the door closes quickly behind him.  Twitch attacks first, leaping at his head, tearing and ripping his face with her nails.  It has little effect.  The monster grabs her, slams her against the wall face first, and pins her there.  The stubble of the man’s face scratches Twitch as he brings his cheek to her’s.  “I love it when they have fight left in them.”  His slimy tongue slides up Twitch’s cheek and sends vulgar chills throughout her body.  There is nothing she can do but scream, and scream she did, but the thick metal walls made the sound inaudible outside of the room.  She is utterly alone in her humility as the beast begins to rape her, and the screams of her pain go unheeded.

Chapter VI
Stealing the Dragon’s Treasure

         “Dammit, this helmet’s too tight.”  Banger says, trying to adjust it as he walks down the hallway that leads back to the throne room.  Every few minutes, squads of armed men march down the hall, making every muscle in Banger’s body tighten with the hope that a lone guard is nothing that would gather suspicion.  Finally, he reaches the throne room and enters cautiously.  Luckily, most of the guards have returned to their stations, only two guards remain; guarding the back hallway that Gorm and his hooded men came from, which is, unluckily, the way he needs to go.  He gathers himself and confidently tries to march right past the guards.
         “Hold!  Where do you think you’re going?”
         “New orders.”
         “New orders?..”
         “Ay...er *cough*, yes.”  Banger tries to disguise his accent, which he does fairly well.  “I’m to transport the prisoner to a new location.”
         “Strange…I thought Lord Gorm wanted her for his plaything.”  Banger just shrugs.
         “Yeah, sounded strange to me too, but orders are orders.”  The guard stares at Banger silently for a few seconds, a few seconds that start to make him sweat.  The guard finally nods and says
         “Go on through.  Go down the hall and take a left, it’ll the second door on the right.  Malyk just went in so I would knock if I were you, hmhmhm.”
Banger hopes that doesn’t mean what he thinks it means and walks on, putting out of his mind.
         Banger finds the door, only the door is nearly undetectable.  The only thing there to signify the portal was a small card reader protruding from the wall.  He searches his clothes for a card but could find none, but he did notice that a part of his forearm sleeve flips open to reveal a bar code.
         “Humph, fancy that.”  He swipes the bar code across the reader and a small light turns green.  As the door opens screams fill the hall.  The horrendous vision that fills his eyes is that of a beastlike man taking advantage of poor, young, Twitch.  Banger quickly enters and shuts the door.
         “Can’t you see we’re busy?  Wait your turn!”  Banger leaps with a growl, onto the back of the man, taking his knife and stabbing him through the side of neck.  The man howls and flings Banger across the small room.  Twitch falls to the floor as the monster turns to Banger.
         “Graklglggg!”  Blood spurts from his mouth as he tries to speak.
         “What’s that?  I couldn’ quite make that out.”  Banger says with smile, which instigates the beast to charge.  Banger deftly moves out of the way as the man slams into the wall, face first.  Grabbing the knife still lodged into the man’s neck, Banger quickly slashes the backs of the giant’s knees.  Unable to hold his weight, the monster’s legs give out and leave him lying in the corner, choking on his own blood.  Banger, quite content with his work with the giant, now turns his attention on his comrade.  Twitch had lifted herself up to her knees but it was clear that she lacked the strength to go any further.  Banger kneels beside her.
         “Are ye alright, lassie?”  Twitch grabs hold of Banger and pulls him to her, eyes exploding with tears.
         “Thank you.”  She says between sobs.
         “There, there, lassie.  Ye’re safe now…uh, well, safer, that is.”  His arms try to comfort her, but she would have no consolation.  Banger grabs her shoulders and looks into her eyes.  “He’s still alive, ye know.  Here.”  He hands Twitch the knife, handle first and they both look over at the bleeding, squirming man, then back at each other.  Twitch smiles.
         
Chapter VII
Belly of the Beast

         Lugh opens his eye to find his arms stretching above him, hands securely tied to a crossbeam in the middle of a metallic room; filled with nothing but darkness and the memory of the former inhabitant’s screams.  The pain caused by his eye was excruciating, but his mind was still sharp and quick.  With the speed of lightning, several different methods of escaping run through his mind.  He tries them all, but none come to fruition.  He realizes that they had him, for now, and all he can do is wait for an opportunity
         Luckily, Lugh doesn’t wait long before the door slides up to reveal a young, beautiful  girl pushing in a cart full of strange instruments or pain.  Her head hangs low as she pushes the cart beside Lugh and leaves it there.  She turns to leave without even looking at the one-eyed, beaten, naked body that hangs helplessly in the middle of the room.
         “Hey!”  The noise nearly makes the girl jump from her skin.  “Aren’t you a bit young for the torture business?”  A smile rises on his face, but can’t really be identified through all the swelling.  The eyes of the girl fill with fear as the dart back and forth from the door to the prisoner.  “What’s your name?”
         “I..I’m not s…s…supposed to t…t…talk to the p…prisoners.”  These guilt filled words let Lugh know that she was not here by her will.  She must be a prisoner, taken as a slave off some backwater colony that owed The Dragon money.
         “Where are you from?  Titania?..Ophelia?..Desdemona?”  At the mention of Desdemona the eyes of the girl widen and begin to tear up.  “Is your family there?”  She nods sadly.  “I’ll tell you what; if you untie me I’ll take you back there.  Free of charge.”  The girl’s mouth drops open and her body, immobile.  Her eyes quickly dart back at the door, knowing that soon the Master of Pain will be coming.  Her mind nearly breaks over  the decision at hand, but finally, she regains what she had lost so many months ago.  Hope.
         “M…M…My name is L…L…Lilith.”  She says, with a stutter as she begins the quickly undo the bindings that held Lugh’s arms.  “C…C…Can you really g…g…get me out of here?”  Her eyes glimmered with wonder.  Many nights she had dreamed of such a day, but never truly believed it could happen.  Now all her dreams are becoming reality and she is having a hard time believing it.
         “My dear, I, Lugh Llawyn, give you my word as a captain that you will be on Desdemona by the next cycle.”  The smile that crosses her beautiful face could have melted the heart of Hades himself, so what chance did Lugh have. 
His hands now free, he grabs one of the vicious looking tools off of the cart and quickly stands beside the door in an ambush position, pulling Lilith with him.  He gestures with a finger to his lips for her to keep quiet.  They didn’t have to wait long before the door slides up once again.  As the man enters the room, Lugh grabs him with the speed of a leopard, quickly putting the sharp metal instrument to the man’s throat.
         “Wait!  Jesus Christ, Captain!”  The words croak out of Bullocks constricted throat.  “Hahaha, I should have known you wouldn’t need my help.”  Lugh lets him go with a slight chuckle.
         “B…B…But what about th…th…the Master?”
         “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about him.  Here, Captain, I brought you some clothes.”  Lilith looks in awe at the uniform that Bullocks gives to Lugh, knowing that it once belonged to the Master of Pain himself.  “Who’s the girl?”
         “Lilith.”  The captain says with no more explanation than that.
         “Oh….Lilith.  Well, Lilith, you can call me Bullocks, but my real name is…”
         “Let’s go”
         “Aye, Captain.” 

VIII
Reunion

         “Dammit, Banger, can’t you shoot straighter than that?”  Twitch and Banger have been protecting the elevator door for the two hours using nothing but four pistols that they “acquired” from some soldiers that no longer need them.  “Bullocks, you’d better hurry your ass up.”  Bullets fly back and forth, until Banger runs out of bullets.  Left with no other option he hurls the gun at his assailants with all his might.
         “We’re goin’ ta have to face facts here, lassie.  Your brother and the Captain might not even be alive.  I say we make for the hangers while we still have our skin.”  Just as Banger finishes his sentence the elevator doors open.  Banger looks at the Captain, Bullocks, and Lilith with no sign of surprise.  “Took ye long enough, eh?  Let’s get the bloody hell out of here…Who’s the girl?”  Bullocks quickly makes his way to his sister and hugs her, shooting his pistol over the shoulder of the relieved girl.
         “That’s Lilith.”  Bullocks shouts over the gun fire.
         “Lilith, eh?  You got a gun, Lilith?”
         “N…N…No.”
         “Great.  Let’s get the fuck out of here!”  Banger is clearly loosing his cool, which is understandable considering that reinforcements had just shown up.  The rest of the group concur and begin to retreat down the hall, all except Captain Lugh, which was making his way toward the enemy, two pistols blazing.  “Captain!  Where the hell are ye goin’?”
         “The Dragon has something that belongs to me, and I aim to get it back.”
         “What?  That sword?  Forget it, Captain, we can buy a new sword.”  Twitch says.  Lugh turns around and stares at them with his one eye.
         “I’m not talking about the sword.”  Murder boils from deep within that eye and the crew can see it plainly.  He was going for his eye and to kill The Dragon once and for all.  Banger lets out a long sigh.
         “He’s out of his fucking mind…”  With that Banger grabs a gun from Twitch and charges with the captain.
         “Hey, asshole, that was my gun!”  Bullocks grabs Twitch and looks directly into her eyes.
         “Sis, I want you to take Lilith and make your way to the hanger.”
         “But…”
         “I need you to do this…for me.  Grab a ship and have it ready to leave as soon as we get back.”
         “Fine.  Just don’t do anything stupid.”  Twitch gives her brother a hug then grabs Lilith by the arm and pulls her down the hall.  Lilith is once again awestruck by the bravery and skill of the pirates. 

Chapter IX
Lugh Llawyn, Dragon Slayer

         “Where is he!”  Lugh screams at the one man left from the squad of nine or ten.  The trooper does not answer.  The blood splattered across Lugh’s face made him look like some sort of monster, a dragon in his own right.  “Answer, or die!”  The soldier finally cooperates.
         “He’s in the throne room!”  Lugh pistol-whips the soldier and with one fell swoop knocks him unconscious.  Lugh storms down the hall toward the throne room, leaving Bullocks and Banger to catch up. 
         They soon make it to the throne room, but are greeted as soon as they enter the room, with the hail of bullets from a Martian-type Automatic Rifle.  The Dragon laughs as he wildly shoots at the three pirates.
         “It’s over, Lugh.  You’ve lost.  You’re all going to die! Hahahaha!”  Clink.  “Huh?”  The gun jams and Lugh knows it.  As Gorm tries desperately to unjam his weapon Lugh charges with a horrific yell.  Gorm unjams his rifle but it is too late.  Lugh shoves his fingers into Gorms mouth.  Lugh the Long-Arm’s muscles nearly burst through his shirt as he pulls the bottom jaw from the top.  No man should see the face of a berserker when the Blood-lust is upon him, and this day, no man will.  For as Lugh pulls, strange noises begin the come from Gorm’s head, metallic noises, the grinding of gears, sparks.  As the top of Gorm’s head finally breaks free, Lugh is stunned at the sight of gears flying through the air and sparks lighting the hall.  A voice still crackles from the machine.
         “Do you think me that stupid, to be on the same ship as you, Lugh the Long-Arm?  Hahahaha!”  The voice of Gorm is replaced by an obviously robotic voice.  “T-minus 10 minutes to self-destruct.”  The scream that bellows from Lugh’s lungs echoes through the halls and is so frightening that even Bullocks and Banger felt chills run through their spine.  The Ships alarm blares loudly, surely to bring more guards.
         “Captain, we’ve got ta go!”  Banger yells.  Lugh takes a breath and calms himself.  He searches the android for his eye and sword, grabs the M.A.R and throws it to Bullocks.
         “To the hanger.”

Chapter X
Escaping the Dragon’s Nest

         “Hurry, Captain” Twitch yells out of the cockpit of small cargo ship.  The three men are being followed by an army of soldiers.  Banger and Bullocks spin around every so often to send a volley of bullets at their chasers in the hope of slowing them down.  It wasn’t working very well.  The get into the back of the cargo ship and close the door, which closed in a very uncomfortably slow fashion.  Bullets ricochet into the cargo bay and one of them strikes Bullocks in the leg.  Twitch hurries to him and bandages him up.  Banger takes her place in the pilot’s seat.  The door finally closes.
         “Hold on ta yer dicks, Laddies.” Just as the ship takes off an explosion is heard and felt.  It nearly knocks everyone out of their seat.  “Oh, shit.”  The whole ship rattles as Banger uses full thrusters to try to outrun the blast.  “Come on, baby.  Hold together.”  The shaking finally stops as the ship passes the point of worry.  “Wooo!  God dammit, Captain, these adventures will be the death of us yet!”  Laughter fills the cabin as everyone finally realizes that they will live to see another day.  Lugh doesn’t laugh though; his mind is stuck on vengeance.  He stares solemnly into this his very own eye, quietly plotting his revenge.  Twitch looks around at her family, but notices the newcomer. 
         “Who is this chick?”  Banger, Bullocks, and Lugh all respond in unison.
         “That’s Lilith.”  Twitch’s eyebrow raises at the strange answer then looks at Lilith.
         “H…H…Hi.”  Suddenly a strange hiss came through the radio.
         “sssssss…Capta…ssssssss…Fish…ssssssss….Luckle…ssssss…read me…ssssss”
         “Fish?  Is that you Laddie?”
         “ssssss…Banger?...sssssss.”
         “Oh, It’s good ta hear yer voice, laddie….Now come fucking pick us up!”
To Be Continued…