NASTRAGULL: Pirates (17 page)

My treasure, my treasure and my beloved knight
, she thought. She tried and failed to blow him a kiss, even as her sexual partners intensified their activity, and she was caught up in the feedback loop of pleasure between the three of them. The more she watched the young man, the more she desired him; the wilder she became, and the louder she screamed out from joy and lust.

His beautiful dark blue eyes gazed at her with love... or so she thought. But she began to feel a vague sensation of unease; somehow, all this was wrong. Suddenly she felt faint, and a headache begun to creep up from nowhere.
              "No, no, NO!" she cried out, trying to slide away from the demon penetrating her.

Then someone was forcing a plastic mask over her nose and mouth; soon Alexa felt the headache vanish, and a wonderful sensation of wellbeing flowed over her, increasing her sexual appetite and lust for more.

Zuzack bellowed out his pleasure, laughing out loud as he ravished the two young hot vixens from behind. They lustfully endured his attentions, responding with a ravenous appetite that fed his own. No matter that it came from the drug.

Nina screamed in ecstasy as she removed the facemask, tossing it aside; the empty cylinder clattered against the deck. She began laughing uproariously as she sailed suddenly through the air, bouncing to a halt on top of the big bed; Alexa landed beside her, both of them having been tossed there by Zuzack. Nina stopped laughing, grappled with Alexa, and began kissing her furiously as the Captain straddled her from behind. Alexa moaned as he thrust both his rods into her, filling both her rear orifices as full as they'd ever been. Nina was on her back below her sucking on her tender nipples. The combined sensations from pleasure and pain sent her body into convulsions, and her own screams echoed in her ears.

At the same time, however, she could hear the faint, soft voice from within telling her that this was all wrong.

A small hand forced her face down and she recognized the hot, damp odor of Nina, who was rubbing Alexa's face between her legs. Alexa gagged and attacked Nina's clitoris with her tongue while she massaged her own breasts, feeling the long black snakes of her master withdrawing from her. He then penetrated Nina just inches from her face. The sight of it turned her on even more.

She gurgled happily and reached over, snatching a syringe from the bedside table. Somehow, Zuzack had had the presence of mind to bring it with him. She laid it against his dark, hairy erection and pushed a button. A loud roar from behind told her she had done well.

***

Somehow, Alec was hanging on. Despite the countless hours of rigorous physical and mental training in one of the galaxy's tougher military schools, he had been slipping down toward death for some time now. But now something else gave him strength, an inner power that filled his life essence to the brim and demanded to exit into the unknown.

He forced out the gag and stretched his head towards the small knife protruding from his left shoulder, ignoring the shouts and screams of pleasure coming from the adjacent room. He opened his mouth and snapped at the knife, trying to snag it with his teeth; but he could not reach it. And so he despaired; tears poured down his face as he thought of the beautiful woman who hours before had declared her love for him, rutting with the demon who was her Captain.

But Alec listened to the little voice inside him, and made another attempt; and this time he bit down hard on the poly-alloy handle. Ignoring the throbbing pain, he was able to wrench it out of his flesh with a savage twist of his head.

He took a deep breath through his nose, mentally preparing himself for the agony that was sure to come, and slowly pulled himself straight up until his head was facing his shackled wrists. He eased down his chin until the sharp edge of the knife blade was on the length of rope just above his ruined hands, and began a sawing motion that soon had him swinging back and forth. The pain from his swollen hands was incredible, throbbing down his spine, making him want to scream. But he dared not. Something powerful inside him made it possible for him to go on. Was it love? Hate? For the moment, he neither knew nor cared. His frustration, and his sudden hatred for the people in the next room, made him go on.

He didn't know how long it took him to get free; but when the strands finally parted and he fell to the carpet, the beastly show was still going on next door. He rolled aside and looked up, hoping beyond hope that no one had heard the thump as he hit the floor. The loud noises from the three lovers made Alec smile, though it wasn't a very nice smile.

He started to saw at the knotted rope connecting his wrists, with the knife still held in his mouth. He cut himself several times, once quite badly, but didn't let it bother him. This was about survival.

When his hands were finally free, he pulled the severed rope away with his teeth, and looked hard at his poor hands, realizing that they were all but useless. He remembered seeing a first aid kit in the galley, and began to crawl away in that direction, as the pins and needles of returning circulation began sending new agony into his hands and wrists.

It took him a while to get there, find the kit, and fumble it open with his teeth and insensate hands. After he had clumsily applied what first aid he could from the hypos and nano-paks, he massaged his hands and wrists with an ointment that settled warmly into his muscles and bones, easing the pain and allowing him as near to full dexterity as he was going to get, short of them healing completely. 

He could still hear Alexa, Nina, and Zuzack having a good time in the bedroom, but he managed to shut it out. His survival instinct took charge of his actions, and he let it; all he wanted was to survive and escape this hellhole. When he'd done all he could, he stumbled to the cooler, removed a bottle of cold water, and downed it in a single breathless gulp. He could feel his hands starting to tingle in a pleasant way as the medication and nano-machines started healing them, and looked down to see that they'd lost their hectic purplish hue, approaching something near normal. He was starting to feel human again. He stretched his neck and shook himself, then began moving his arms in long circular motions. His wrists and shoulders still hurt like hell, but the first aid was working its high-tech wonders. He wasn't perfect, and knew that he'd need to have a med-tech look them over in the near future; however, they would do for now.

Suddenly, he realized that the suite had fallen silent; the sexual revelry was apparently over for now. He flattened himself against the galley's bulkhead, cursing himself for not noticing sooner, and eased into the living area. The three in the bedroom showed no signs of leaving;
Probably exhausted
, he thought with revulsion. As he moved with a stealthy silence through the suite, he noticed several syringes and canisters capped with facemasks scattered around. He picked up one of the canisters; it was almost full. His face grim, he dialed it up to maximum dosage and quietly entered the bedroom—and found himself staring into Alexa's eyes.

Alexa smiled as she looked into the eyes of her shining knight, who finally had come to rescue her. She leaned towards him with glazed eyes and a dull expression, making a seductive gesture with her arm, but he simply ignored her.

She blinked, bemused. Why was her head echoing? What was her knight doing with that drug canister...and why was he beating up on poor Nina and her Captain...? Wait...what was the Captain's name again? Oh well, it didn't matter; she hated him anyway. She loved her knight.

She gave Alec a loving smile and reached out for him. He grabbed her arm, spun her around, and tied her hands behind her back with a strip torn from her best stain sheet. She turned her head and looked back at him over her shoulder, giggling, and slurred, "My my, I knew you were kinky after all, my knight...come and tie me up as hard as you can, and have your way with me..."

That's as far as she got before passing out.

Alec shook his head, tying Alexa's ankles together before pulling them up behind her and tying them to her wrists. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he had to ensure that she was secure. Alec had given Zuzack twice the maximum dose from the bottle, which was enough to knock out a horse, so he was snoring away peacefully; but it hadn't been so easy with Nina, and he'd hurt her more than he intended. Somehow, as he was struggling with Zuzack, she'd woken up and demanded her fair share of the drug. She'd tried to yank the canister out of his hands, so he'd been forced to punch her out. Alexa, on the other hand, was as high as a kite and needed barely a whiff of the gas to put her out.

After Alec secured all three pirates, he began to tear Alexa's suite apart, looking for weapons, clothing, medical supplies, and anything else he might need to rescue his friends and get back to civilization. He found his clothing, but all the buttons were gone—thanks to Alexa's lovemaking technique—so he was forced to pin them together as best as he could with safety pins and brooches he found in Alexa's bureau. He pulled a loose tunic on over his uniform to disguise it, then started to sort out the weapons on the living room table. There were several knives, three projectile pistols of various calibers, a magma rifle, two particle-beam blasters, and a variety of grenades and other bomblets. Not to mention three separate med-kits. He was surprised that the Captain allowed his crew to maintain such personal armories, but all the better for him. He was rechecking the equipment when he heard the harsh voice behind him.

"So, have you had much action, boy? You look kinda young to me."

Alec turned towards the bedroom, his face hard and cold as Antarctic ice. The Captain lay in the doorway of the bedroom; he'd apparently rolled himself off the bed and wriggled his way to where he could see what was going on, because he was still trussed up tight. Even from where he crouched, Alec could smell the reek of alcohol, filth and drugs that rolled off Zuzack in waves.

Alec looked at him with contempt, and then turned back to his task.

"You'll never make it," Zuzack assured him.

Alec remained silent and continued his preparations, until he noticed, from the corner of his eye, that Zuzack had started to struggle against his bonds. Suddenly incensed, Alec stood, walked up to him, and kicked him in his face. The one intact fang left in his lower jaw broke off, giving him a matching pair once more.              

Zuzack spat out blood and tooth fragments, and despite his predicament, let out a horrible laugh. "Are you going to kill me?" he asked.

Alec went back to the table, and began to check the weapons again. He couldn’t carry all of them, so he had to make some hard choices.

Zuzack was apparently feeling a little uneasy. "What're you going to do with me?" he demanded. Obviously, he didn't give a damn about Alexa and Nina. That was about par for the course among these pirates. Annoyed, Alec turned back to him, holding the largest knife in his hand, and gave Zuzack a chilling smile.

"Wait, wait." Zuzack was trembling now; maybe it was a reaction to the drug overdose, maybe not. But his eyes were filled with fear, and sweat matted his pelt as Alec paced toward him, holding the knife at the ready.

Alec leaned down towards Zuzack and grabbed hold of his braided beard.

"No! No! Wait! For all galaxies in space, wait!"

Alec smiled as he sliced into Zuzack's face with the tip of the knife. The big alien yanked his face away, looking horrified, and started to weep. Alec was caught off guard for a second; then a powerful wave of disgust flowed through him. He straddled Zuzack's chest and pulled the ugly face closer. "Can't take your own medicine, hey?" he sneered. "You're not afraid to dish it out, but when payback comes, you're nothing but a big baby, I see." He spat in the Captain's eye.

"I beg of you, don't!" Zuzack bawled. "Money, treasure beyond your imagination, women, men, whatever pleases you! It's all yours!"

Alec stopped for a long second, pretending to think; then he lifted the knife once again and carved a line along the curve of the pirate's cheek. Zuzack screamed, "It was I who captured the
Black Moon
!"

Alec stopped, for real this time.

"So you have heard about the
Black Moon
," Zuzack said, his voice quavering. "Its holds were filled with tritonium silver, more than you can ever imagine, enough for any man to become an Emperor."

Alec looked at him, puzzled, and asked curiously, "So why haven't you become one?"

"It's all yours, all of it, take it and let me live!"

Alex shook his head. "You're just trying to buy a little more time for your miserable soul. The
Black Moon
is a legend. It's time to die, pirate."

Zuzack was desperate. "No! It's here, here on this ship. On my soul, I
swear
it's here, and I know a way for you to take it and leave, and no one but you and I would ever know." Zuzack looked triumphant and hopeful, as if he believed that he'd bought himself some more time; he saw the cadet, once a frightened slave and now a self-aware killing machine, hesitate.

It didn't last long. Alec smiled and started to cut again.

Zuzack panicked. He spoke very fast, knowing he was about to die, tossed in everything he had... "My brother recently got his hands on several maps, almost all of them fake, as usual—but one is a genuine map to the treasure everyone has looked for. It is a time map, and I know that it's genuine because I've found more than twenty tritonium silver bars by following its lead. Take them and the map. I beg of you, spare my life, you can have..."