{"id":598,"date":"2016-02-24T20:59:01","date_gmt":"2016-02-25T01:59:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bethturnage.com\/?page_id=598"},"modified":"2016-02-24T20:59:01","modified_gmt":"2016-02-25T01:59:01","slug":"pirates-luck-chapter-four-whore-trap","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bethturnage.com\/?page_id=598","title":{"rendered":"Pirate’s Luck: Chapter Four ~ Whore Trap"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Pirate's<\/a> He ran through the halls of his home ship panicked at what he just found out. His father was chasing him.<\/p>\n

\u201cArekan! Stop!\u201d his father called.<\/p>\n

No! No! No!<\/p>\n

All his life he heard about the other side of their family, the ones that hated and feared Arekan\u2019s side. It was bad enough they were exiled from their homeland, gathered in a multi-generation ship moving from one place to another to avoid detection. But this, what his father told him was too much.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo! Not me!\u201d he screamed at his father denying his heritage, dismissing the responsibility laid on him. The real possibility bounty hunters from four nations or relatives from the other side who could hunt him down and kill him shocked him to his core. \u201cNo!\u201d<\/p>\n

It was the only time he screamed at this father like that. Just being the two of them all of Arekan\u2019s life there was a stronger bond between them than other fathers and sons. And his father had been nothing but unfailingly kind to Arekan all throughout his youth, even when Arekan was difficult.<\/p>\n

But this? This was impossible. It felt like a huge betrayal. But it paled in the next few moments to a betrayal bigger than that.<\/p>\n

A stranger alerted them to danger. They didn\u2019t even have the time to alert the rest of the ship. They barely cleared their home ship in an escape pod when the big ship burst into a million pieces.<\/p>\n

Pieces of that ship, the only life he knew, peppered the retreating life pod. <\/em><\/p>\n

His arm shook and he heard a name called.<\/p>\n

Thad! Thad!\u201d His eyes opened, still swollen from his unsuited spacewalk so he couldn\u2019t see who gripped his arm. Arekan failed his arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet of me! Get off me!\u201d <\/p>\n

The hand left his arm.<\/p>\n

\u201cShut the hells up,\u201d complained Tinnen, the engineer from his corner of the room. \u201cGo back to sleep! We\u2019ve got a big job tomorrow and each one of you mokes better be sharp!\u201d<\/p>\n

Arekan picked his ears up on this one. He had spent eighteen hours in the hyperbaric chamber because of the prank Grokin, Tinnen and Obon perpetrated and didn\u2019t hear anything about a job <\/p>\n

\u201cWho the hell do you think are?\u201d grumbled Obon. <\/p>\n

Arekan thought over the merits of throwing something at Obon. Considering that Obon was one of the three that threw him out the airlock yesterday it was tempting. On the other hand Arekan didn\u2019t feel up for a fight at this minute. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe one who is doing the shutting!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJack you,\u201d said Obon. <\/p>\n

\u201cShut up,\u201d said Egren. <\/p>\n

So far Egren was the one crew member that hadn\u2019t annoyed Arekan in some way. The captain Etharin he hadn\u2019t seen since Arekan boarded the ship but he more than impressed Arekan with his ruthlessness when Etharin recruited him to work the Rogan. Grokin convinced Arekan he was an out-and-out sadist with how he laughed when Arekan was thrown unprotected in the black. Cripin, the navigator, he hadn\u2019t met since the man spent most of his time in the bridge. <\/p>\n

Cook, the old sot, was snoring loudly in his bunk, and was there when Arekan limped into the crews quarter after Grokin released him from the medbay. <\/p>\n

Arekan fell back into the lumpy mattress and gripped his thin blanket between his two hands staring up at the ceiling. He took some calming breaths, just as his swordsmaster taught him, but his heart still raced. Since he boarded this ship his nightmares increased in frequency and intensity. He supposed they reflected the nightmare of his current circumstances. <\/p>\n

His eyes opened enough to see black and blue marks peppering his skin, the result of floating unpressurized outside the ship yesterday without a spacesuit. Every bone and joint ached from the sudden displacement of his body fluids forced back into a semblance of normalcy by the medbay\u2019s hyperbaric chamber. <\/p>\n

And his stomach groaned with hunger. He hadn\u2019t eaten a day or so before Grokin signed him on and had no meals yesterday. The cook went off to bed before Arekan was released, left nothing for him and the doors the food storage units were locked. <\/p>\n

He missed his father.<\/p>\n

Though it had only been a few days since he died Arekan felt like an eternity passed. How was he going to live with that? Live with this life, alone and in the middle of enemies?<\/p>\n

He did not know. It was not supposed to a question a nineteen year old had to ask. <\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Arekan stood with his arms crossed in the cargo hold. It was colder here than the rest of the ship and he remembered the captain drained heat from the ship\u2019s engine to turn a turbine to charge depleted turboramjet batteries.<\/p>\n

This was dangerous and illegal. Batteries charged like that wouldn\u2019t last long and could fail at a critical time during a ship\u2019s lift off.<\/p>\n

Cheap, cheating, murderous bastard.<\/p>\n

Grokin strolled in hauling space suits and threw one at Arekan, Obon and Egrin.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuit up, you mokes. We\u2019ve got salvage to secure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBegging your pardon, sir,\u201d said Arekan. \u201cWhat do you expect me to do? I\u2019m your blade, not a general hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll do what I tell you, Bucko,\u201d said Grokin with a menacing grin. \u2018Or do you want to join the Heavenly Court permanent?\u201d<\/p>\n

Arekan glared at Grokin. Grokin called sending Arekan out into the black without the protection of a spacesuit \u201cpaying homage to the Heavenly Court.\u201d It was a brutal initiation for crew members of the Rogan who hadn\u2019t crossed the borders from one nation to another.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, sir,\u201d said Arekan.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeside\u2019s you\u2019ll be doing the easy work handling Obon and Egrin\u2019s tethers here from the hold to make sure they don\u2019t tangle. Tangled tethers can tear up easy, meaning I\u2019ll be losing crew members when I don\u2019t need to. I hate losing crew members.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, sir,\u201d said Arekan. Already Obon and Egrin were in their suits helping each other to seal them. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou better get moving, boy,\u201d growled Grokin. \u201cWe don\u2019t have no time to waste. There\u2019s a ship out for claiming and the Captain wants us clear of this sector before the Romlin Navy comes to check it out its buoy signal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat buoy signal?\u201d asked Arekan.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe one their crew left when they abandoned ship,\u201d said Egrin. \u201cCripin picked it up yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAye,\u201d said Grokin, \u201cand we\u2019ve been pushing hard since to get here before someone else does. So get moving!\u201d<\/p>\n

Putting on the spacesuit was not as easy as Obon and Egrin made it look. The back of the thing dropped away to leave a large enough opening, but getting his feet in while standing proved almost impossible. The legs were stiff enough from the radiation shield pads to make putting one leg in at time impossible. But the suit was also floppy, especially at the joints, so he had to hold it with both hands. Finally he dropped to the deck and pushed his legs in at the same time, pointing his toes. Accomplishing this he tried to stand but he found he couldn\u2019t get up. The radiation shield pads prevented that movement. <\/p>\n

\u201cGods damn!\u201d complained Grokin as he hauled Arekan to his feet. \u201cWe don\u2019t have all day to wait on \u2018ya, Bucko.\u201d He held out the arms of the suit. \u201cStick them in,\u201d he said irritably. <\/p>\n

\u201cAw, gee,\u201d said Arekan sarcastically as he pushed his arms in the suit. \u201cNo sense in getting sweet on me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grokin growled and spun Arekan roughly yanking the back panel up hard to that Arekan almost fell forward. He slapped the seals into place, then spun Arekan around to face him. He slammed Arekan\u2019s helmet into his chest. \u201cThere, think \u2018ya can get your helmet on, or do you need help with that too?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cHave you found Issy?\u201d asked Obon. The man\u2019s tone was innocent, but Arekan got from the name and his sly smile he was speaking about Grokin\u2019s pet.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never mind about Issy,\u201d snapped Grokin. \u201cShe\u2019ll turn up when she wants too. She\u2019s probably just shedding her skin, and trust me you don\u2019t want to be around her for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure,\u201d said Obon but he turned from Grokin and Arekan caught where the man was laughing.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere,\u201d said Egren through his helmet microphone, \u201cI\u2019ll check your seals.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks,\u201d said Arekan.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo problem. Shipmates should help each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Egren ran his hand over different places in the suit, made some adjustments and then nodded his head. \u201cYou\u2019re good to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arekan snapped his head to look into Egren\u2019s eyes. \u2018Good to go\u2019 was a term used by some military. His question must have shone in his face because Egren answered it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAye, I was in the League Marines,\u201d said Egren. \u201cI took an early retirement.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMeaning,\u201d said Obon with a sneer, \u201cthat he deserted his post.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre we going to flap about resumes,\u201d complained Grokin, \u201cor get this job done? Move it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obon and Egren moved to the airlock to the left of the giant hydraulic hatch of the loading bay. The hatch shut behind them with a hiss and Egren and Obon attached tethers to their suits and pulled out cables with winches and fastened them in their toolbelts. Arekan looked out of the window inset in the outer hatch at a ship smaller than this hauler listing at angles to the Rogan. <\/p>\n

\u201cThad,\u201d said Egren. \u201cWe\u2019re going out there to attach these cables to that ship. Keep our tethers and our cables apart so that they don\u2019t tangle. Otherwise, if the oxygen line snaps we won\u2019t have air. If the security tether breaks, we\u2019ll float off into the black. Neither is a good way to die.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay,\u201d said Arekan.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you\u2019ll want to put your arm through a handhold and hold fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arekan remembered with anger how fast he was swept in the black when the outer hatch opened.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight.\u201d <\/p>\n

After he looped through a handhold, Obon released the outer hatch. With the rush of the outgoing air the two men were swept out into the black.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, Thad,\u201d said Egren through his microphone, \u201cIs a good time to get to our tethers.<\/p>\n

Arekan let go of his tenuous hold on ship and moved between the sets of tethers and cables. He place a gloved hand on either set as the Obon and Egren floated in the expanse between the Rogan and the salvage ship. He didn\u2019t have to do much as both men seemed to know what they were doing. With deft movement of built-in handjets, they propelled toward the salvage ship and connected with it. Though Arekan couldn\u2019t see exactly what they did, the cables went taut so he knew the ship was now tethered to the Rogan. <\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, Thad,\u201d said Egen, \u201cnow winch in our tethers and oxygen lines slowly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arekan looked over the panel on his left that held Egren\u2019s lines, and found the buttons for each winch. Letting go of Obon\u2019 line, he wrapped one around Egrens and held the buttons as the winches spun slowly bringing Egren closer to the ship. Egren for his part held his gloved hands on the cable that now tenuously connected the two ships. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about me?\u201d asked Obon.<\/p>\n

\u201cGive me a minute. I\u2019m getting Egren in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAin\u2019t no reason you can\u2019t haul us in at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGive the boy a break, It\u2019s is first time doing this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obon grumbled, but Arekan ignored him. He wasn\u2019t going to screw this up by being careless. <\/p>\n

But then Arekan caught some movement against the stars, small white moving objects.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are those?\u201d said Arekan thinking out loud.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d Egren\u2019s lines jerked when he looked over his shoulder.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoly hells!\u201d he yelled. \u201cGrokin, it\u2019s a whore trap! A whore trap! Grokin did you hear me?\u201d<\/p>\n

Arekan drew in a sharp breath as he saw the dots quickly became the forms of two space suited men. They converged on Obon and wrapped him around the cable twice. He swore to himself and he watch Egren pull himself up the cable at a faster pace. <\/p>\n

An unfamiliar voice broke in on their com channel.<\/p>\n

\u201cCo-operate and your man here won\u2019t get hurt. Don\u2019t and he\u2019ll die.\u201d<\/p>\n

Egren reached the hatch and Arekan, with his hand around a handhold, reached out his glove hand and pulled him in. Egren tumbled to the deck.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you hear us, mates?\u201d said the unfamiliar voice. <\/p>\n

\u201cYa, we heard you,\u201d said Grokin. \u201cLet him die.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chapter Five ~ Let ‘Em Take Prisoners<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

He ran through the halls of his home ship panicked at what he just found out. His father was chasing him. \u201cArekan! Stop!\u201d his father called. No! No! No! All his life he heard about the other side of their family, the ones that hated and feared Arekan\u2019s side. It was bad enough they were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":413,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-598","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bethturnage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bethturnage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bethturnage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bethturnage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bethturnage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bethturnage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/598\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bethturnage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bethturnage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}