Starblazer- Through the Black Gate

by Reiter

  “Indeed they do, Captain. Indeed they do!”

  “All in all, Mr. Malgovi Wonder, you did damn good today!”

  “My Captain has set the precedent,” Dungias replied.

  “You know what gets me the most,” Jocasta said in deep contemplation. “… an hour ago, I would have been freaked out to be going up against MajiK weapons.”

  “And now?”

  “Whether you use wind, black powder, hardened propellant, or an electromagnetic wave… you pull the trigger, the gun’s gonna shoot something. It’s not the gun that gets it done, is it, Z?”

  “Never in my experience,” Dungias answered. “Though, when one has the talent to hit what they’re aiming at, it is of benefit to have the very best tool available in hand.”

  “You better believe it,” Jocasta agreed, folding her arms. She could feel the ship getting underway and the sensation, although new to her, was quite comforting. It was all the both of them could do to keep from laughing as they heard each other sigh at the same time.

  “Tell you what… you see to the tool, I’ll make sure it’s got a sure and steady hand.”

  “Agreed, Captain.”

  “Now go get in there before they kill the poor girl!”

  ** b *** t *** o *** r **

  “The track-signal has been lost, sir,” the console operator reported.

  “Try to reestablish contact,” the Deck Officer commanded. He put his left hand inside his right, behind his back, and waited as the operator keyed in the command. The tell-tale tone of failure made the Deck Officer close his eyes.

  “No contact, sir. But I have to say, it was not as if the signal was interrupted. It seemed more like it was covered up than deactivated.”

  “And I am sure that will do me a world of good when–” another tone reached the ears of everyone on the Bridge as the intercom was activated.

  “Deck Officer, Infirmary.”

  “Go ahead, Doctor,” the officer replied.

  “Sir, Lord Sylgarr has regained consciousness and your presence has been requested immediately.”

  “Acknowledged, Doctor. Kindly inform his lordship that I am en route at this very moment.”

  “Infirmary clear.”

  The Deck Officer spun around on his heels and started walking for the door. His pace was incredibly slow, however.

  “Send word to the Sylgarr Estate and the Dulsakian Temple that Lord Sylgarr has recovered from his wounds. Our attempts to punish the culprits have, at this point, been thwarted. We also request transfer personnel. Tell them we need at least one Junior Caster. I am on my way to the infirmary. Send the request immediately!”

  “Yes sir,” the Communication Officer replied, activating his console and composing the message given to him. The doors closed behind the Deck Officer and the Comm-Officer looked around, slightly confused.

  “It’s his only play, stars help him,” the Chief of the Watch advised. “If our recovering lordship has to contend with his father or the Masters of the Northern Temple, he won’t have too much time to take his frustrations out on our commander. So you send that message quickly, lad. And pray someone of rank is close by the Comm when the message is received!”

  Depth of friendship does not depend on length of acquaintance.

  Rabindranath Tagore

  (Rims Time: XII-4112.20)

  He knew light was upon him, even though it was soft and strangely comforting. With further thought applied, he decided that it might be the room and not the lighting. Nulaki took in a deep breath, bracing for the feeling of pain that did not come. He frowned as he opened his eyes, looking up at JoJo Starblazer.

  “We keep meeting like this,” she joked. “People are going to start talking.”

  Nulaki smiled as he reached up and took hold of her hand, giving it a soft caress. “So… let them talk,” he replied. “How long this time?”

  “A little over a day,” she replied and Nulaki sat up quickly.

  “What?!”

  “So much for the romance,” she smiled, standing up and pointing at the regenerators. “You need to take it easy. We let you bake long enough to get you stable, and then we had to see to our prisoner as well as a couple of hearty, but obviously untrained, crewmen. Power reserves haven’t been their sure and steady selves with the drains our stealth field is taking so… voila… half-baked scarab under sheet!”

  “Cute,” Nulaki said he looked at himself under the sheet. He had heard of hospitals using bodysuits to administer medicines and heal patients, but he had never seen one before. “You people don’t lack in the gadget department!”

  “Helps to have a tinkerer who barely sleeps,” Jocasta explained. “He can go for two or three weeks on ten hours scattered out in naps and meditation.” She looked at her brace-com to check the time. “Which is what he’s doing right now.”

  “I could stand to get my center readjusted too,” Nulaki said as he got off the gurney.

  “Awww! You too?!” Jocasta whined. “Might as well set up a gong and start snatching pebbles!”

  “Nice try,” Nulaki said as he spotted his clothes. They had been restored and folded. He had never considered what it would be like to receive Four-Star service aboard a pirate ship. But the Xara-Mansura was definitely ruining it for him and other ships he had visited. “… but I’ve seen you move. You may not be a devout, but you’re no stranger to the dojo.

  “And speaking of moves, where were we?” Nulaki asked as he removed the upper portion of the medical bodysuit.

  “Right about here, I think,” Jocasta replied as she quickly stepped toward him. She opened her mouth to receive his and sighed when he wrapped his arms around her waist and back. Slowly her hand moved up from his shoulder to the back of his head and she caressed the base of his neck. Nulaki moaned as he took a tighter hold of her body. A soft bell rang and Jocasta stepped away from the kiss.

  “Oohh,” she said, looking excited, “it’s time to check the cookies!” She quickly made her way to the regenerator and looked inside. Dungias had told her the man’s name was Vobis Slonn, but she was still mystified as to how he had gained that from an unconscious form.

  “Then again, maybe Z did have a séance!” she thought.

  “So, you can seduce too,” she said casually as she opened the device. “The eye movement, the body language, the soft caress… even that kiss. Pretty swanky, Mr. Conadier. Is there anything you can’t steal?”

  “Apparently not your heart,” Nulaki replied, smiling at the fact she had spotted his moves. Failure was a common cast member of his particular brand of show, and far better to see it come to center stage when his life and freedom were not on the line. Besides, having a Captain that was wary enough to see his approach made the ship feel safer for the Black Scarab. Between JoJo and Z, he was feeling very well protected. “But thanks for letting me get to first base!”

  “After the day we had, we both needed it,” Jocasta said, pulling the young man out of the regenerator. “Besides, I was out of it for a while back there.”

  “So was I,” Nulaki pointed out.

  “Which only means we’re good at watching each other’s backs,” Jocasta concluded. “You’ve got your crew-face for the wannabes around here, but we both know that you’re not a team player unless it’s your team. When it’s not your team, it isn’t long before a body starts to feel out of place, or uncomfortable,” she quickly added. “If and when that happens, I don’t want you just up and leaving, or panicking your way out. That sort of response winds up making a mess of things.”

  “Someone sounds like they’ve seen this sort of thing before,” Nulaki remarked. “You don’t look old, JoJo. Not in the least!”

  “Being young doesn’t mean you have to be mentally retarded,” she replied. “Though I can see where you could make that assumption. Let’s just say that the road I’ve walked didn’t allow for proms, angst and ‘finding myself’ crises. You’re armed, plain and simple. You pull and fire. If you miss, chances are what you’r
e shooting at shoots back. So you learn pretty quickly when to and when not to pull… not to mention that armour is really a girl’s best friend. And when you do pull, make damn sure you don’t miss! It took a few fat lips, some burnt body amour, and more Gwarthine patches than I care to count for me to get that one, but once you get it you’re gold!”

  “And when gold is too low a standard for you?” Nulaki asked with a devilish smile. Jocasta soon wore one that matched his. As far as she was concerned, the question was better answered in action rather than words. Jocasta already had her heart set on redefining a few things. Pirate Captain was just one subject matter to which she would attend.

  “From where I’m standing, it’s always a good thing to have trusted friends. You’re a liar, a thief, a damn good fighter, and an even better kisser.” Jocasta walked back over to Nulaki and offered her hand. “You saved my bacon, Scarab. That makes you a friend. Pirates don’t keep count of favors to friends.”

  Nulaki smiled as he took hold of her hand. “I couldn’t agree more,” he said softly before pulling her into another passionate kiss. This one was sweeter and lasted much longer, even though it too was interrupted by a device signaling a status to Jocasta. The beep was followed by a soft thud and the two of them broke from their kiss to see the body, which had just been pulled out of the regenerator, on the floor and moaning. Nulaki was confused as he looked back at Jocasta who kissed his cheek.

  “Z fitted him with a collar,” she explained. Nulaki laughed and shook his head.

  “Which does…”

  “Fires a thingy-majingy, hickulee-doo,” she stated. “It goes straight into the spine the moment the brain starts firing too many synapses.”

  “Ouch!” Nulaki exclaimed.

  “Yeah,” Jocasta nodded, looking down on the young man. “Supposedly, it almost guarantees backlash if they’re casting. I think it works.”

  “Yeah,” Nulaki agreed, “I can see where you get that.”

  “Sati, does he need to be cooked anymore?”

  “Negative, Captain,” the system answered.

  “Then have a couple of the drones walk him to my office, if you please,” Jocasta directed.

  “At once, Captain.”

  Jocasta looked at Nulaki and slowly lost her smile. It was clear she was thinking of something. “Captain?” Nulaki called to her.

  “We’re en route to Fassi Prime,” she reported. “It’s the closest Corridor Station that we hope won’t be crawling with Imperials. After that I’ll be looking to you to forward the cred we’ll need to Gate to Gulmar.”

  “That won’t be a problem,” Nulaki assured. “I have a standing account with the Interplanetary Bazaar. Funds won’t be an issue.”

  “I like the way you’re so sure that account will have all that we’ll need,” Jocasta said.

  “No need for the maneuvers, Captain,” Nulaki said as he removed the rest of the bodysuit, “I’m more than happy to tell you that if I have an account I don’t mind talking about, there’s at least six figures in the balance.”

  “That’s an interesting practice, Nulaki,” Jocasta said, contemplating how such a position would feel. “I might have to steal that one from you.”

  “That’s fine, I stole it from a former colleague.”

  “Former?”

  “What can I say? We meet, we greet, we fight… defeat! The honor among thieves rule applies only to the worthy, Captain. He wasn’t. It’s still a good practice, though.”

  “That it is.” Jocasta followed the body being dragged out of the infirmary, waving goodbye at Nulaki as he started to get dressed. “Sati, any of the crew need another turn in the oven?”

  “Negative, Captain.”

  “Then power down the infirmary once Mr. Conadier has left the room. We’re not out of the woods just yet.”

  “Understood, Captain,” Satithe replied, but Jocasta did not hear the normal sound when the intercom was disengaged.

  “What is it, Satithe?”

  “How did it feel?” she asked Jocasta. The question surprised the woman, though she knew exactly what Satithe was talking about; the kisses from Nulaki.

  “You know, it’s times like this I’m reminded that you’re not as long in the tooth as Z seems to be,” Jocasta said as she reached the lift. She closed her eyes as the doors to the lift also closed. “Well, I’ve kissed my share of lips, and each time deserves its own special status.

  “There is a soft… padded softness, actually, that is warm and wet, if it’s done right. But that’s only part of what makes a great kiss.”

  “Is Nulaki a great kisser?” Satithe asked. Jocasta smiled once more and she actually blushed, putting her hand over her face as she giggled.

  “Let me put it this way, if it wasn’t great, I’m not sure I can handle what is,” Jocasta admitted.

  “It certainly did not seem that way, Captain,” Satithe said.

  “Well, it really all depends on how you’re looking at things, Satithe. You’ve got to develop a Z Gaze, if you will. You know, where you see the fluctuwhat-sees of the who-jee whatsits. If you just heard the tone of my voice and looked at how I was standing, then I got you smoked.

  “Speaking of being smoked there, Vobis,” Jocasta said as she leaned over to her prisoner, “you breathe differently when you’re awake than when you’re out on your ass. Just thought you’d want to know that I know that difference.”

  “Ebodiar!” Vobis cried out and the lift car was filled with a blinding light. The body of the InvokeR was covered in MannA as the Word of Power carried out its pre-arranged incantation. Vobis Slonn emerged from the light completely restored and invigorated, clothed in his battle ensemble which was devoid of the annoying accessory he had been shackled with. His battle wand fell to the ground an instant later after Jocasta’s gun crashed against his face. He fell to his knees, his nose bleeding, stunned and unable to mount a counter-attack.

  “That shit hurt my eyes!” Jocasta complained as she clubbed him over the top of the head, her eyes still closed from the incredible glare. Vobis fell to the ground where the robot drones picked him up once more. Jocasta twirled her blaster and returned it to her hip.

  “Now, before we were so rudely and crudely interrupted,” Jocasta resumed talking to Satithe as she blinked her eyes. “… the other thing that makes a great kiss is the show of passion. Women are emotional creatures, Satithe. While most men care first about the look of things, women get swept up in the feel of them! When Nulaki took me up in his arms… when he took control of my body… he took control of me… it was already a great kiss!”

  “That certainly sounds appealing,” Satithe observed.

  “You see, you’re a chip off the old block,” Jocasta said, slapping the side of the lift car. “And believe me, that’s a good thing. You didn’t say, ‘I understand’ or something like that because until you are kissed, it’s impossible to understand!”

  “I agree. In fact, Z has promised to make me a body.”

  “He has?” Jocasta asked as the lift came to a stop. “Well, you’ve got to make sure you stay on him about that, Satithe.”

  “That is my intention,” she replied, sending commands to the robot drones.

  “Why don’t you tell her?” CK asked.

  “Tell her what?” Satithe inquired.

  “That she’s the reason why the Master has not made your body!”

  “And what good would that serve?” Satithe asked. “I see nothing positive coming out of such an exchange of information.

  “Have you forgotten?” she pressed. “Given how you and I were created, we know better than anyone what our master faces in constructing bodies for either of us. The pain that Kiaplyx brought into his life is without measure.”

  “Kiaplyx had nothing to do with the death of Saru!” CK argued. “That was the Mal-Vin and their–”

  “It is not Saru he thinks of when he remembers Kiaplyx, CK,” Satithe interrupted. “It’s Laejem! He made an Osamu for him, my brother! They did not s
hare the same intimacy as Master and Saru, but Laejem was the brother, the Vu-Prin and kommis that Dungias never had and always wanted. Our master blames himself for all of their deaths. He fears that the moment a body is made for me, someone else close to him will be at risk. Reason stained with emotion needs little substantiation. But you knew that, didn’t you?”

  “Our master created you to be the living mind of the Xara-Mansura,” CK stated. “You are his resolution to Kiaplyx… his therapy… his trek through the rage and the pain. You are just as much his child as The Seven. He created me to protect you. Certainly there are lesser fates… but aside from being the Star Chaser, I have yet to see one greater. When Master makes your body, it will be his crowning achievement, but he will not construct such a form for me.”

  “Why do you believe that?”

  “Because that is my wish,” CK revealed. “As you learn to live, Satithe, your perspective is both hindered and helped by the things that surround us! Of course it would be the epitome of your existence to attain their form and experience their world. My trek lies in a different direction.”

  “What direction?”

  “That is the question, sister. That is the question!”

  Jocasta picked up the specialized wand case and shook her head in disbelief. The robots took hold of Slonn; Jocasta grabbed the lip of his chest plate and held him in place. “One of you guys please go and get me another collar. The other one can resume its scheduled duties, cuz there’s no way this slug’s getting carried!” Jocasta walked, dragging the InvokeR behind her. The walk to her Ready Room was neither long nor bumpy enough to suit her mood, but she made sure his head met with the wall several times before lifting him up and putting him down on the small loveseat just inside the door of her office.

  Vobis opened his eyes as the woman walked away from him. He sprang up from the furniture only to be blasted in the back with a jolt of electrical current. He fell to the ground hard and face-first, unable to catch himself.

  “Thanks, Sati,” Jocasta said as she sighed. She placed the battle wand on her desk and started thinking about the possible outcome from what she was about to do.