Post by theredshadow on May 25, 2012 21:59:11 GMT -6
"Welcome aboard, kid."
Startled, I spun around to lock eyes with the meanest, grittiest and downright ugliest old space pirate I'd ever seen. Of course, as I began to mentally catalog every space pirate I'd ever laid eyes on, I realized Wayne Calderon was the ONLY one I'd ever been this close to, at least in person. Only caught sight of 'em in the vid-papers or on the wanted bulletins posted by the local supplement stores up the block from my house. Would never have imagined one would be so repugnant though, in both sight and smell.
I struggled to keep from wincing as I replied, "Thanks for having me, Captain Calderon!" I sincerely hoped I didn't sound as childishly eager as it had come out.
"It's Scurge, none of that Captain crap on my ship, got it?" He looked pained as he scolded me but I dismissed it as the only sign he'd ever show that all the years were taking a toll on his broken down body. His mind was still as quick as a whip, or at least that's what I was told when I debated joining his crew for this little mission. Gotta start somewhere, they said, so why not here, on the Dreggfoote. A pirate ship with quite a reputation and numerous successful runs across the galaxy. Any aspiring pirate, smuggler or other unsavory entrepreneur knew her name. And now I, Roman Bradley, would be serving aboard the illustrious pirate ship as it's -
"Hey, kid! Kitchen is down that corridor, last door on the right. You may as well get yourself acquainted and right quick. The rest of the crew'll be boarding shortly and they'll be pissin' and whinin' if they don't have a hot meal waiting."
- cook. I frowned. He motioned down the hall and then disappeared up a short set of stairs that led to the main deck and the cockpit. It was there, no doubt, where the great Scurge set upon his captain's chair, giving orders and making finger gestures that sent the whole crew into action like mice in a cage all running 'round the same wheel. For some reason I could hear him in my head saying such things as Make it so! or Engage. I could also clearly imagine him digging at his crotch and smelling his fingers afterwards. Ugh...
I made my way down the rickety ship's hall and entered the eating quarters. It was quite a sight. I couldn't make out whether the speckles of fleshy materials on the wall were the former cook's food, or the former cook. I'd heard stories, so I planned on not taking any unnecessary risks while aboard. I had to do my best to serve with the best. So I began cleaning and organizing the kitchen in earnest. I wanted to be done by the time the crew arrived.
Roughly 45 minutes later I was done. And not a moment too soon, as I began to hear the low murmur of approaching footsteps and conversation. I set heat to the large pot I had begun to assemble ingredients in as I was cleaning, and then set out down the hall. I wanted to meet and greet as the crew entered the hangar where the Dreggfoote was currently anchored.
I descended the stairs from the ship's entrance two steps at a time and just about ran into a snarling G'narlac warrior, who returned my stunned expression with a teethy sneer and a flick of his forked tongue. "Watch where you're going, human!"
"Uh, I'm sorry, sir, I, uh, was going too fast and you were right there and I didn't expect that and I, uh, um, well, you know..." I managed to stammer to a close while studying the increasingly more angry look on the G'narlac's face. All of a sudden he roared and the entire expanse of his gator-like face opened and I could see the three rows of razor sharp teeth glisten cleanly, a sharp contrast to his slimy, scaly skin and weather-worn clothes.
As the roar came to a halt, I felt my bladder come dangerously close to emptying. The only thing that stopped me from wetting myself was the chorus of laughter coming from all around me, including the G'narlac. I stood stunned, a drop of saliva pooling up at the corner of my mouth. The G'narlac reached out and my bladder did release a little, but I soon realized he was trying to shake my hand. I grasped the leathery hand and shook it firmly.
"You're all right, human. The last guy I did that to left that impression in the door over there as he ran away." He motioned to the immense metallic drop door that allowed for large, wheeled transportation to enter the hangar. There was a clear indentation right in the center where someone had apparently ran fullspeed and headlong into it.
"I remember that," chimed in one of the chorus of laughers, a lanky fellow who couldn't have weighed more than 120 pounds soaking wet. "That guy was out for half an hour."
"So true, Dover, so true," said the G'narlac. "Anyway kid, I'm B'V'Ar, but you can call me Biv like everyone else does. Makes no difference to me. I'm a G'narlac warrior, in case you didn't know. I'm Scurge's hired muscle. I specialize in defense, weapons and covert action. That skinny bastard there is Dover, a human from the Moon Habitat. They sure do pop them out scrawny up there, don't they!" He began to laugh again while Dover sneered and even made a hand gesture at him that I hadn't seen before. I could only imagine what it meant.
"Nice to meet you guys," I coughed up. Biv had finally let go of my hand and I glanced at the green ooze between my fingers. Ugh, in all my days of cooking food with some of the weirdest ingredients and recipes, I'd never been so repulsed at the sight of something foreign on my hands. I shook my head and reverted my eyes back to the green warrior, and then to the skinny guy.
"I'm the nav officer," chimed in Dover, as his eyes did this weird flittering to the left side. I couldn't help but gulp thinking this guy would be in charge of navigation. "Oh don't mind the eyes, that comes from the grav differences between the Earth and the Moon. It subsides...after awhile."
I felt painfully ashamed that he detected my apprehension and made a mental note to work on my poker face. You never want to wear your heart on your sleeve, especially in this business. That being said, I do hope I become accepted by this crew as one of their own. Because this is all I've ever wanted.
"He's a nice looking young man. I wonder if he's got the stamina he'll need to keep up with me though!" A large, almost Amazonian-like blonde belted out a laugh even more intimidating than Biv's. It sent me back a step as she started to circle me, looking me over. I gulped again, and kicked myself for already breaking my vow.
"Ooooh, this one is nervous! I'd swallow you whole, boy, and then spit you out." she said with a menacing look in her eyes. And then, once again, the small group that was mingling in the hangar started laughing loudly.
Perhaps this was my initiation. I could think of no other reason for this treatment. I just needed to pass, hopefully with flying colors.
"Nice to meet you, uh...?" I trailed off when I realized I didn't know her name yet. She eyed me appraisingly and then introduced herself.
"I'm Valkyrie Sigrdrifa. I'm the best thing Scurge ever installed into this beat up old wreck of a ship." She smirked.
"Is that so, Val?" Scurge's voiced boomed from above us.
The captain appeared at the ship's entrance and proceeded down the stairway, taking one step at a time. The crew looked up and, for once, the fun and laughter was gone from their faces. But it wasn't intimidation or fear in their eyes, it was respect. The love of their captain could be clearly seen, and it made me that much prouder to finally be aboard the Dreggfoote.
Startled, I spun around to lock eyes with the meanest, grittiest and downright ugliest old space pirate I'd ever seen. Of course, as I began to mentally catalog every space pirate I'd ever laid eyes on, I realized Wayne Calderon was the ONLY one I'd ever been this close to, at least in person. Only caught sight of 'em in the vid-papers or on the wanted bulletins posted by the local supplement stores up the block from my house. Would never have imagined one would be so repugnant though, in both sight and smell.
I struggled to keep from wincing as I replied, "Thanks for having me, Captain Calderon!" I sincerely hoped I didn't sound as childishly eager as it had come out.
"It's Scurge, none of that Captain crap on my ship, got it?" He looked pained as he scolded me but I dismissed it as the only sign he'd ever show that all the years were taking a toll on his broken down body. His mind was still as quick as a whip, or at least that's what I was told when I debated joining his crew for this little mission. Gotta start somewhere, they said, so why not here, on the Dreggfoote. A pirate ship with quite a reputation and numerous successful runs across the galaxy. Any aspiring pirate, smuggler or other unsavory entrepreneur knew her name. And now I, Roman Bradley, would be serving aboard the illustrious pirate ship as it's -
"Hey, kid! Kitchen is down that corridor, last door on the right. You may as well get yourself acquainted and right quick. The rest of the crew'll be boarding shortly and they'll be pissin' and whinin' if they don't have a hot meal waiting."
- cook. I frowned. He motioned down the hall and then disappeared up a short set of stairs that led to the main deck and the cockpit. It was there, no doubt, where the great Scurge set upon his captain's chair, giving orders and making finger gestures that sent the whole crew into action like mice in a cage all running 'round the same wheel. For some reason I could hear him in my head saying such things as Make it so! or Engage. I could also clearly imagine him digging at his crotch and smelling his fingers afterwards. Ugh...
I made my way down the rickety ship's hall and entered the eating quarters. It was quite a sight. I couldn't make out whether the speckles of fleshy materials on the wall were the former cook's food, or the former cook. I'd heard stories, so I planned on not taking any unnecessary risks while aboard. I had to do my best to serve with the best. So I began cleaning and organizing the kitchen in earnest. I wanted to be done by the time the crew arrived.
Roughly 45 minutes later I was done. And not a moment too soon, as I began to hear the low murmur of approaching footsteps and conversation. I set heat to the large pot I had begun to assemble ingredients in as I was cleaning, and then set out down the hall. I wanted to meet and greet as the crew entered the hangar where the Dreggfoote was currently anchored.
I descended the stairs from the ship's entrance two steps at a time and just about ran into a snarling G'narlac warrior, who returned my stunned expression with a teethy sneer and a flick of his forked tongue. "Watch where you're going, human!"
"Uh, I'm sorry, sir, I, uh, was going too fast and you were right there and I didn't expect that and I, uh, um, well, you know..." I managed to stammer to a close while studying the increasingly more angry look on the G'narlac's face. All of a sudden he roared and the entire expanse of his gator-like face opened and I could see the three rows of razor sharp teeth glisten cleanly, a sharp contrast to his slimy, scaly skin and weather-worn clothes.
As the roar came to a halt, I felt my bladder come dangerously close to emptying. The only thing that stopped me from wetting myself was the chorus of laughter coming from all around me, including the G'narlac. I stood stunned, a drop of saliva pooling up at the corner of my mouth. The G'narlac reached out and my bladder did release a little, but I soon realized he was trying to shake my hand. I grasped the leathery hand and shook it firmly.
"You're all right, human. The last guy I did that to left that impression in the door over there as he ran away." He motioned to the immense metallic drop door that allowed for large, wheeled transportation to enter the hangar. There was a clear indentation right in the center where someone had apparently ran fullspeed and headlong into it.
"I remember that," chimed in one of the chorus of laughers, a lanky fellow who couldn't have weighed more than 120 pounds soaking wet. "That guy was out for half an hour."
"So true, Dover, so true," said the G'narlac. "Anyway kid, I'm B'V'Ar, but you can call me Biv like everyone else does. Makes no difference to me. I'm a G'narlac warrior, in case you didn't know. I'm Scurge's hired muscle. I specialize in defense, weapons and covert action. That skinny bastard there is Dover, a human from the Moon Habitat. They sure do pop them out scrawny up there, don't they!" He began to laugh again while Dover sneered and even made a hand gesture at him that I hadn't seen before. I could only imagine what it meant.
"Nice to meet you guys," I coughed up. Biv had finally let go of my hand and I glanced at the green ooze between my fingers. Ugh, in all my days of cooking food with some of the weirdest ingredients and recipes, I'd never been so repulsed at the sight of something foreign on my hands. I shook my head and reverted my eyes back to the green warrior, and then to the skinny guy.
"I'm the nav officer," chimed in Dover, as his eyes did this weird flittering to the left side. I couldn't help but gulp thinking this guy would be in charge of navigation. "Oh don't mind the eyes, that comes from the grav differences between the Earth and the Moon. It subsides...after awhile."
I felt painfully ashamed that he detected my apprehension and made a mental note to work on my poker face. You never want to wear your heart on your sleeve, especially in this business. That being said, I do hope I become accepted by this crew as one of their own. Because this is all I've ever wanted.
"He's a nice looking young man. I wonder if he's got the stamina he'll need to keep up with me though!" A large, almost Amazonian-like blonde belted out a laugh even more intimidating than Biv's. It sent me back a step as she started to circle me, looking me over. I gulped again, and kicked myself for already breaking my vow.
"Ooooh, this one is nervous! I'd swallow you whole, boy, and then spit you out." she said with a menacing look in her eyes. And then, once again, the small group that was mingling in the hangar started laughing loudly.
Perhaps this was my initiation. I could think of no other reason for this treatment. I just needed to pass, hopefully with flying colors.
"Nice to meet you, uh...?" I trailed off when I realized I didn't know her name yet. She eyed me appraisingly and then introduced herself.
"I'm Valkyrie Sigrdrifa. I'm the best thing Scurge ever installed into this beat up old wreck of a ship." She smirked.
"Is that so, Val?" Scurge's voiced boomed from above us.
The captain appeared at the ship's entrance and proceeded down the stairway, taking one step at a time. The crew looked up and, for once, the fun and laughter was gone from their faces. But it wasn't intimidation or fear in their eyes, it was respect. The love of their captain could be clearly seen, and it made me that much prouder to finally be aboard the Dreggfoote.