Voyages of the White Skull Book 1

by Jason Alan Jones

  Ironically, Jesse leaned on the very same rail that Admiral Scanlon used to, overlooking the stores and passersby. He spotted a beautiful woman smiling at him, so he nodded. She had long blonde curly hair, and her face and neck were covered in freckles. A woman, who had freckles, was an extreme turn on to him. Although the woman was gorgeous, women were the last thing on his mind, except for Jaime, Eronica, and Monica, who were etched in his mind. He tried his hardest not to think about all that had happened, but it had been consuming his thoughts for the last couple of months. His major concern now was his ship, his new crew, and its inhabitants. Many of the civilians had to take on jobs so that the Horizon could keep running. Most of its crew were killed when the Renexobious attacked, leaving only thirty five thousand left.

  Admiral Kincaid loved the challenge of running such a colossal starship. He vowed to mold his crew into the finest in existence. It wasn’t easy leaving his pirate life behind, but he felt that this would mold him into the man he wanted to become. He was tired of being feared, he wanted to be respected and admired, someone who children could look up to. He left the shopping level, and took a hatch up to the next level. It was a spacious cargo hold, and it was secluded. Fifty feet away, he saw a large window which looked out into space. The ledge of the window was low and wide enough to sit on. He sat in the window, leaned back, and stretched his right leg on the window sill.

  He couldn’t imagine living anywhere else other than in the darkness of space. Maybe someday, when he becomes an old man, he would retire and live on a space station. Jesse never understood his dislike for living on the surface of a planet. He thought it had something to do with the absolute freedom of space. On a planet, you could travel completely around from one peninsula to the other, but you could never reach the end of space. Space was full of natural artwork created by the Divine, such as nebulas, black holes, particle clouds, and an endless assortment of phenomena, which could take your breath away with their beauty.

  Jesse gripped his powerful fist, and could feel the strength it had. He continued to stare off into space, thinking of Jaime and Monica. He truly missed both women with all of his heart. The young admiral was still in shock with the turn of events which had recently taken place. In one fell swoop, his girlfriend had turned into a bloodthirsty half-breed alien, who ended up killing herself. Then, his ex-girlfriend, who had sacrificed her life because she loved him with all of her heart, was killed by Mr. Toad. Not to mention that his longtime friend also turned out to be an alien, who he killed per his friend’s request. Jesse was still puzzled on why Silvana may have taken Monica’s dead body. He thought about going after her, and getting Monica’s body back, but didn’t think he would be able to find her. Besides, although Jesse cared about Monica, and everything she had done for him, he couldn’t leave his new crew and the civilians that he was in charge of. As devastating as everything had evolved into, he still wanted to find a bright side to this situation. Jesse was hoping his life would change for the better, and that he wouldn’t have to resort to disappearing alone somewhere in the universe again.

  He swore to himself, that as the new admiral of the Horizon, he would devote his life to helping those in need, and stopping as much injustice as he could. No more would he go back to smuggling, and living the life as a pirate would. He did, however, pledge to keep the skull and crossbones as his symbol. It was a symbol that had given him great pride. It represented freedom, and he would never give that up. The Horizon continued on their course in search of habitable planets. He looked down at his new, blue short sleeved shirt, and smiled when thinking about his friends. He was sad though, that Luis was dead. Although they hadn’t seen each other much when Luis was alive, Jesse had at least known that Luis had been flying around somewhere in space. Jesse also missed Jaime, which was who he really planed on spending the rest of his life with. He hoped that she is in a better place, and was happy. He missed her bright shining spirit, and the smile she gave him that lit his soul on fire. Then, he thought of how he must have let her down. He thought that there must have been something he could have done to help her, maybe even in finding a cure. Jesse clenched his fist, and hit it against the inside of the window sill. He swore when he noticed he had dented it.

  “I’ll have to be more careful,” Jesse said, muttering to himself.

  “I sense that you are grieving for the loss of your loves. Very unusual, in my culture, we love only one person for our entire existence. Love is the most sacred emotion for us. It’s a way of life and our religion,” Eronica said, coming into the cargo hold, speaking with such elegance.

  “Unfortunately, the human species doesn’t cherish the same values. Not everyone values love. Many people confuse lust with love, then, when their lust is satisfied, they move on, and claim their love for yet another. Sometimes, it’s a cycle that never ends. Some of us end up alone without ever experiencing love. With Monica, the woman who was killed by Mr. Toad, we had been in a relationship for a couple of years. I loved her very deeply. The reason I left her was because she wanted me to become some evil dictator, and she didn’t want to get married. It wasn’t until we split up that she realized how much she loved me. Now, Jaime, the woman who took her own life, was my girlfriend. We were planning on traveling through space together. It’s just very hard to let go of someone you cared about. Jaime was a little like you. She was a good listener, and had a loving nature about her, a far cry from Monica. I had no idea that she was half Renexobious. Our relationship was cut too short, and I didn’t have a chance to really fall in love with her. Two good women who wasted their lives on me,” Jesse said in a low tone, as he continued to stare out into space.

  “You weren’t meant to be together,” Eronica took a long pause, as she moved her silky blue hair behind her right ear with her index finger. “Remember how I told you that we are to be together?”

  “How could I forget?”

  “Well, the Pulse females have…may I sit down with you Jesse?”

  “I’m sorry, here sit down,” Jesse got up, helping her onto the sill.

  She continued, “Pulse females are born with psychic abilities. At the age of twelve, we are shown the man we will spend the rest of our lives with, someone, who we will devote our lives and love. Deep inside, we begin to develop a strong love and bond for this person. On the Pulse homeworld, we normally find that person rather fast. In my case, I saw you, a stranger to my world. I knew someday I would meet you, yet I had no idea how. I had to keep the faith that my gods would deliver me to you. I have never been with any other man, and will never, until you accept me into your heart. I have also had visions of your troubled childhood and hardships, and I have wept for you many times, wishing that I could help you through them. I couldn’t wait to finally be with you, and bring you the happiness and love you deserve. I know that this is a horrible time to bring this up, but we are meant to be together. You have a lot resting on your shoulders, so I will wait for you to accept me as your wife.”

  Eronica’s seriousness stunned him. He had no idea how serious she was until now. “Wait a second, Eronica, I understand you have your beliefs, but that’s all they are…your beliefs. I just lost two women, who I really cared about, and I will not dishonor their memory by vowing my love to another. It will be a long time before I will think of having another relationship. With the loss of some of my dear friends, not to mention a large number of the people on this ship, I think it will take a long time for me to heal. I don’t believe I have anything to even offer you. I’ve been internally scared from all of my bad luck with relationships. I think women would do well to stay away from me. I don’t consider myself to be a catch. Isn’t there a Pulse man you can choose instead?” Jesse asked.

  “No, Jesse, I have already made my choice, and so shall you, in time. I know you will come to love me, it’s our destiny. I will make you an excellent wife, who will love and support you no matter what. The reasons I had visions of you, is because the Pulse gods declared that we are a perfect ma
tch for each other, and they are never wrong. Because my gods have chosen us for each other, our love will know no bounds. Now that I have explained my intentions, I will leave you alone to your thoughts. If you need me for anything, someone to talk to, or anything at all, then please seek me out. Goodnight, my love.” Eronica smiled at him, and walked away with an enchanting grace. Jesse threw his hands up in frustration.

  She left behind an enchanting fragrance, which smelled like black raspberries. It would be hard for him to stay away, but he would. Her long, straight silky blue hair touched the small of her back, and her hair was perfectly cut in a straight line. The dress she wore matched to color of her hair and lips. It appeared to be made of a silk which sensually hung on her perfect body. Jesse noticed that the entire species of the Pulse were perfect in every way. They were also artistic in some way, and he was curious as to what Eronica’s talents were. He watched her disappear into the darkness. Jesse wasn’t a hundred percent sure what to make of her. He reverted to not being too trustworthy again after everything that had happened. Jesse’s thoughts quickly drifted, and he wondered how his friend, Haseeb, was doing. He hoped he would be able to see him again.

  The young captain continued to blankly stare out of the window for the next couple of hours, and then decided to check on his staff in the Command Room. He entered the room, and was greeted by his friends and staff. They were all happy to see him after his long absence. He had only appeared a couple of times in the past couple of months, and had been giving most of his orders while he was in his quarters. Everyone understood why and didn’t bother him. They were pleased to see him.

  “Thank you for running everything so smoothly. I won’t be running things from my room anymore; I’ve gotten over everything I had to. I have a few projects we are going to start working on, and I’ve made a few changes. Tony, what is the status of the Horizon’s weapons?” the admiral asked.

  “All weapons are fully operational. The damage from the Renexobious has been fixed on schedule,” Tony proudly stated.

  “Excellent, as of right now, you are in charge of the security of this ship.” Tony’s face lit up. Jesse continued, “For your first assignment, I want you to construct a Special Forces team of one thousand men and women. They are to be trained in every fighting and combat style we can muster. I was talking to one of the Pulse males, and he has shown me a martial arts style, which they practice as a dance, and it actually looks pretty effective. His name is Kalop, I want you to learn it, and also teach it to all security personnel. We have to be prepared for any situation. Just in case we run into any unfriendly aliens, like the Renexobious,” Jesse ordered.

  “Yes, sir,” Tony answered.

  “Don, you are in charge of the maintenance of the Horizon. I need you to organize a team of maintenance men, along with the original surviving maintenance men. They have a lot of experience but not nearly as much as you. Also, I need you, Crazy Renzo, and Tony, to start building a small fleet of space fighters. I need you guys to add as many weapons to the ships as possible. Don and Tony, I want you to add stronger weapons to the Horizon. There are some techs that have a few good ideas. They have told me that they could add the Renexobious weapons to our ship. We have to be prepared. We’ve discovered two alien species so far, so we have to assume there are more out there. They may be meaner than the Renexobious, but hopefully not.”

  “Yes, sir,” the three men responded.

  “Crazy Renzo, since you’re one of the best fighter pilots here, except for me, of course, I want you to be in charge of the space fighter fleet. Since I know you like to name things, you can come up with a name for the fleet.”

  “Yes, sir, thank you,” said Renzo, clapping his hand.

  “What about us? Don’t we get to come up with names for our teams?” Don asked.

  Jesse smiled, “Of course, you can all name your teams, and Captain Jain, I wanted to know if you would honor me by teaching me everything you know about the military. You are going to be my right hand, and I’m going to need a lot of help from you.”

  “The honor would be mine, Admiral,” Nilay stated. Unknown to Jesse, Nilay had followed the White Skull’s career, and had always admired his freedom. The captain was curious to know what kind of admiral the White Skull would turn out to be.

  “I think we’ll work well together, Captain. You are a brave man, and a natural leader. I would be the one honored by your assistance.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “Excellent. Crew, we have a lot of work ahead of us, let’s get to it,” Jesse ordered, as he clapped his hands together.

  The following day, Jesse woke up feeling more positive than usual. He was excited to see what today would bring. His command staff was fast at work on their projects. While taking a walk, the curious ex-pirate was drawn to a beautiful melody coming from one of the lounges on the twenty-ninth floor. The enchanting sound drew him in like a magnet; he had never heard anything quite like it before. He followed the sound to the end of a wide hallway. The dimly lit level added to the elegance of the restaurants and lounges. As he entered the spacious lounge, he found Eronica playing a silver instrument, which was seated in her lap. The instrument resembled a piece of artwork, or a beautiful sculpture. In her right hand, she had a bow-shaped object, which she smoothly swayed back and forth, creating a beautiful melody. Jesse tried to sneak into the crowd that was circling around her, seated on luxurious dark brown leather couches.

  Seated in a leather chair herself, Eronica spots Jesse, her beautiful face lit up with joy, and she was very happy to see him. She motioned to him, with a nod, to join the group. Eronica wore an elegant, low-cut dark blue dress, which loosely hung just under her shoulders, revealing her cleavage. He found a seat placed on the side of the group. Eronica’s playing became more emotional with each stroke of her bow. To his amazement, Jesse began to feel the music penetrate deep into his body. She began to look at him as she played. The song, somehow, became for him. Jesse continued to feel more and more relaxed, as his body sank into his chair. He rested his head on the back of the soft chair, as the music came over him, like rushing waves of tranquility. To his surprise, he began to feel almost as intoxicated as he did when he took his painkillers. Eronica tilted her head slightly to the right, as if she knew how he was feeling. Did she know he used drugs? He wondered if she had the ability to see the demons resting in his sole. He hoped not.

  In his drunken state, his eyes wandered down to the softness of her exposed cleavage. She noticed, and smiled at him. He pretended not to notice her noticing that he was staring, and closed his eyes, letting the music take him away. The perfection of her talent was anything short of amazing. You could tell by the passion in the way she played, that it came directly from her heart. Several minutes later, the young admiral had fallen asleep. Without him even realizing, everyone had left, leaving only Eronica and himself. He woke up and noticed that Eronica was watching over him, like an angel. Her soft white skin seemed to almost glow. She was biting into her lower blue lip, hoping he would continue sleeping, so that way she could stay in his company for a long time.

  “I didn’t want to disturb you, you looked so peaceful.” Eronica’s voice was soft and sweet.

  “It’s been a long time since I have rested that soundly,” Jesse admitted.

  “Has everything been going well?”

  “Yes, things are beginning to come together. We have a lot of work cut out for us. So many changes have taken effect in the last couple of months,” Jesse told her. Her presence seemed to ease him somehow. He tried to fight the heaviness of his eyes, but he lost the battle, as he started to fade away once again.

  “Would you like me to play for you, Jesse?”

  “Yes, I would. What is that instrument called?”

  “It is called a Krim. It relaxes the muscles of the entire body through the vibrations of the music,” Eronica explained.

  “You play very well, Eronica.”

  She liked it when he used her nam
e, and while smiling, she said, “Thank you, Jesse.”

  Eronica continued to play the silver Krim, which placed him into a deep sleep. Jesse immediately began to dream of a far off land that he had never seen before. He saw himself ten years older, standing on a beautiful green countryside, facing a large wood cabin. The cabin was built on a small grassy hill, with monstrous snow peeked mountains towering high in the foreground. Jesse was wearing his usual black pants, but this time, he had on a white dress shirt. He saw himself a lot thinner, and in excellent shape. A female figure exited the doorway of the wood cabin, holding a baby girl, with a young boy standing at her side. It was Eronica, and she was with his children. She was smiling at him, as he yelled out to her, saying, “I love you!”

  Jesse instantly came to, and sat up, looking as if someone had stabbed him. “Shit,” Jesse said, followed by a weird nervous smile.

  “Is everything all right, Jesse?” Eronica asked.

  He paused before he answered her. “I forgot to do something very important,” Jesse lied. He quickly stood up, and made his way to the door of the lounge. “Excuse me, Eronica, I have to go.” He looked back at her, and then left.

  Eronica had also risen to her feet, dumbfounded, with her mouth draped wide open in disappointment. Her instrument was dangling in her delicate hand. She loved being around Jesse, and was not expecting him to leave so abruptly. Eronica thought this could have been a good opportunity to talk to him. She was on a mission of her own, to make him her husband. She knew that he would eventually come to love her, since it was their destiny to be together. Eronica preferred that it be now, rather than later on. She had already grown to love him deeply, and ached that he was not holding her every moment. She had surprised herself by not going insane, and for keeping her composure when he was nearby, but it wasn’t easy.