Earthman Jack vs. The Ghost Planet (43 page)

“Yes.”

“It’s my destiny.”

“You are the master of your own destiny, Jack,” said
Shepherd softly.

Jack opened his eyes and looked down at Shepherd, lying on
the table before him.

“I finally understand,” said Jack.  “I get what you were
trying to teach me.”

Jack placed his hand on the breastplate of Shepherd’s armor,
as though it were a sacred book for him to swear upon.

“I’m going to save Anna.  I’m going to take down the Deathlords. 
I’m going to get revenge for you, and everyone who has died.  And I’m going to
live through all of it.”

Jack removed his hand, and with steely resolve, looked upon
Shepherd one final time.

“That’s the destiny I choose,” he said.

On the bridge of the ship, Scallywag
sat in the control chair, trying something – anything – to get the blasted
thing moving.  He’d been holed away in that dreadful Deathlord pit for far too
long, and now the only thing he could think about was making his way to the
nearest outpost’s red light district and finding enough alcohol and female
company to make the entire ordeal seem like some far-off nightmare.  He didn’t
even care if the booze was watered down and the women were uglier than a
beaten-up Skyrofish – he just desperately needed to relax someplace that wasn’t
constantly trying to kill him.

Of course, nothing he did seemed to have any effect.  It appeared
the Earthman wasn’t kidding when he said he was the only one who could pilot
this ship.  Scallywag glanced up from his button pushing to see Grohm sitting
quietly in a seat nearby.  The massive Rognok looked to be asleep again, still
as a rock – much as he was in the Pit when he wasn’t fighting.  For a brief
moment, Scallywag wondered if it mattered to the blasted alien where he was –
spaceship, Pleasure Planet, or endless Pit of death and despair – as long as he
could sit around like a bump on a log and nap himself silly.

Scallywag looked away from Grohm, growing even more
frustrated.  He began to punch the buttons on the chair more forcefully, as if
that would suddenly make them begin to respond to him.

“You’re wasting your time,” said Heckubus.  The pirate
turned and looked at the robot, who had stationed himself behind one of the
ship’s control panels with his feet leisurely kicked up upon it.

“Slag off,” said Scallywag, before going back to hitting
random buttons.

Heckubus sighed.  “I’ve been through this ship’s systems
approximately a billion times.  Everything about it is hard-wired to only
respond to native inhabitants of the Earthman’s planet.”

“Ships are meant to be flown,” said Scallywag.  “They don’t
care by who.”

“This one does,” replied Heckubus.  “Whoever made it wanted
to be sure that only Earthmen could fly it, for some silly reason.”

“So what’s its deal, eh?” asked Scallywag.  “Some type of
DNA coding?  Voice recognition?  Brain scan tech?”

“Pah,” muttered Heckubus.  “If it were something as simple
as that, do you think we’d still be here?  I’d have hijacked this marvelous
piece of machinery hours ago.  No, this ship is far more advanced than anything
I have ever come across.  Even I am having difficulty understanding its
inner-workings.  And need I remind you… I am a genius.”

Scallywag pounded his fist on the arm of the command chair. 
“I swear on Jerrimour the White and all his ancestors, if I hear ya proclaim
yourself a genius one more time—”

“I
am
a genius,” insisted Heckubus.

“Then figure out how to fly this bloody waste heap!” snapped
Scallywag.  “Teleport us again!  Somewhere bright, and sunny, and decadent! 
Make yerself useful for once!”

“Shows how much you know,” sniggled the robot.  “This ship
doesn’t teleport.”

“We were one place, now we’re someplace else,” said
Scallywag.  “What do you call that?”

“Entanglement.”

“What the blazes are ya yammering about?”

“Have you any notion how teleportation works?  And what it
would take to teleport an entire spaceship across vast distances of space?  I
ask rhetorically because of course you have no idea, but let me just fill you
in - the power requirements alone make the entire concept of a teleporting
spaceship ridiculous.  What this vessel appears to do is something far, far
more sophisticated.”

“Okay, I’ll bite,” said Scallywag, hopping out of the
captain’s chair and sauntering his way to Heckubus’s console.  “What does this
ship do?”

“The quantum theory of Entanglement is that everything in
the universe is connected,” said Heckubus.  “Everything we perceive in our
universe – objects, spatial distance, even time itself – are all just things
that are created by the minds of living beings, while the reality is that
nothing actually exists.  It’s all just one big, entangled mess that you organics
try to give order to with your feeble minds by creating these false constructs
that come to define your reality.”

“I’m already bored, robot,” muttered Scallywag.

Heckubus rolled his large ocular orbs.  “Think about it, you
simpleton.  Since everything is connected, then theoretically, we exist
everywhere.  Spatial distance has no meaning.  If we wanted to, we could choose
to stop existing here, and exist someplace else instead.”

Scallywag scratched his chin.  “So… you’re saying the ship
didn’t actually teleport… it just decided to exist someplace else?”

“Precisely!” said Heckubus.  “And here’s the really
interesting part – only something with a living consciousness capable of
defining its own reality can manipulate quantum entanglement.  As far as anyone
knows, only a select few Paragons in history have been able to achieve this
feat.  And yet, here we have a ship that seems to be able to do it on command.”

Scallywag raised an eyebrow.  “Hold up,” he said.  “Are ya
saying this ship is
alive
?”

“Of course not; don’t be stupid,” replied Heckubus.  “I
admit I am a bit stymied by how a machine is able to achieve something only
organics are supposedly capable of, but one thing cannot be ignored – whatever this
ship is, it is without a doubt the single, most powerful vessel the universe
has ever seen.”

“That’s what I’m counting on,” came a voice.

Heckubus and Scallywag turned to see Jack standing in the
doorway of the bridge.

“Oy, there ya are,” smiled Scallywag, relieved to see the
boy had finished his crying.  “Ya ready ta kick this ship o’ yers into gear,
lad?”

“I am,” said Jack, walking down toward the others.

“Right-o!” cheered Scallywag.  “We figured out where we are during
yer downtime, and the good news is, there’s a Pholon trading outpost not far
from here…”

“We’re not going there,” said Jack as he walked up to a
panel opposite Heckubus and began tapping some keys.

Scallywag shared a curious glance with Heckubus before
responding.  “All righty, lad.  Ya got someplace else you wanna go?”

“I do,” said Jack as he hit the final key on the console.

Behind Scallywag, a small circular platform raised up from
the floor of the bridge.  A holographic image of a barren, white planet popped
into existence directly above it.

“There,” said Jack.

“I say,” said Scallywag as he regarded the image of the
planet Jack had called up.  “Is that what I think it is?”

“Terahades,” said Jack.  “The Deathlord’s Ghost Planet.”

Scallywag glared at Jack.  “Funny,” he said.  “I was
picturing someplace more tropical.”

“The ship downloaded the entire Deathlord database while it
was interfaced with the mothership,” said Jack.  “We know everything that the
Deathlords do about this planet.  Where it’s located, what its defenses are –
everything.”

“Lad, we are not going to any bloody Ghost Planet,” said
Scallywag.  “Having just barely escaped from the Deathlord’s mothership, I can
assure you, I have no plans on stepping foot anywhere near a Deathlord for the
rest o’ me life.”

“For once, I’m in agreement with the pirate,” chimed in
Heckubus.  “Really, Earthman, if you want to commit suicide, there are easier
ways to do it than flying to that planet.  Why, I know of approximately 237
ways we could assist you with common things we can find lying around this ship.”

“They’ve got Anna,” said Jack.  “That’s where they’re taking
her, so that’s where we’re gonna go.”

“I don’t give two swats about the Princess of the Regalus
Empire,” replied Scallywag.

“Nor I,” intoned Heckubus. “Our best course of action is to
travel to the nearest celestial hub and get as far away from any Deathlord
incursion as possible.”

“And after that?” snapped Jack.  “What then?  Wait for them
to just show up again and keep running away?”

“The universe is a big place,” said Scallywag.  “Lots o’
places to go.”

“But for how long?” asked Jack.  “How long can you run
before they find you?  You said yourself that you’re one of the most wanted
criminals in the galaxy, and yet even you were captured by them.”

“A mistake I do not plan on repeating,” replied Scallywag.

“And if you make a different mistake?” said Jack.  “What’s
to prevent you from being on the next planet they blow up without warning?”

“You can spout what-ifs ‘til yer jaw goes slack, lad,” said
Scallywag.  “There is nothing in this universe that could possibly justify
traipsing back into the midst of the Deathlord fleet.”

“Are you forgetting everything we learned on that ship? 
Anna is the last surviving member of the royal family.  She's the only one able
to work Ancient technology!  If the Deathlords bring her to the Ghost Planet
and force her to unleash this invincible armada of the dudes who destroyed the
Ancients – there is nothing that’s going to be able to stop them!  They'll just
keep destroying the galaxy, one planet after another, unless we rescue her!”

“And what do ya propose we do, Earthman?” growled Scallywag. 
“Take on the entire Deathlord army ourselves?”

“No,” said Jack.  “We just go to the planet, bust Anna out,
and then jump away.”

“Just like that?” chuckled Scallywag.

“Yeah, why not?” replied Jack.  “We got out of the
mothership, didn’t we?  How hard can escaping an entire planet be?”

“This isn’t just some run-of-the-mill planet, you fool,” said
Heckubus.  “It is the barren wasteland of a long forgotten world, designed by
the most advanced race in the history of civilization to keep anything from
escaping it.  It’s a tomb, Earthman.  According to the data I accessed while
sneaking around… I mean, analyzing your ship’s systems, the Ghost Planet is
surrounded by a dense minefield hidden within a nebula that renders sensor
readings useless.  In addition to that, the Deathlords have recorded hidden
platforms within the minefield that also fire anti-spacecraft missiles.  Add to
that a planet-wide repulsor shield and the firepower of an entire fleet of
Deathlord Planetkillers, and anyone who gets even remotely close to that planet
is dead – no matter how you look at it.  And I, for one, happen to like not being
dead.”

“As do I,” agreed Scallywag.

Jack looked at the holographic image of the Ghost Planet. 
Even through the digital blips and crackles of the holo-generator, it loomed as
a cold, menacing, and dreadful object on the bridge of the ship, as though its
mere presence would infect any who gazed upon it.  For a brief moment, doubt
took hold of him, and he realized he hadn’t really thought through just how
difficult something like this might be.

Seeing the uncertainty on Jack’s face, Scallywag turned to
Heckubus.  “Put in the coordinates for the outpost,” he said.  “We’re leaving.”

In the back of his mind, Jack felt a twinge of anger brew, percolating
up from Scallywag’s sudden order, as though this were his ship.  Jack pushed
away any doubt he felt.  He was going to do this.  He
had
to do this.

“We’re not going to the outpost,” said Jack sternly.

“Yes, we are,” replied Scallywag as he walked up to the
control chair and gestured toward it.  “Now hop in, and let’s get a move on.  I
think I’ve suffered enough insanity for one lifetime.”

Jack stepped forward, not willing to back down.

“We are going to the Ghost Planet, and we’re going to rescue
Anna,” said Jack.

“No, we’re not,” insisted Scallywag.  “Yer girlfriend is as
good as dead, lad.  Get over it.”

“You’re not the one in charge here,” said Jack.

Scallywag scowled and unholstered one of his blasters, aiming
it at Jack.

“This says I am,” the pirate sneered.

“Ooooooo,” twiddled Heckubus.  “Things just got
interesting.”

Jack looked at the gun in Scallywag’s hand, a little taken
aback.  “What are you doing?” he asked.

“I’m sick of arguing, lad,” said Scallywag.  “I feel for ya,
I do.  But I’ve been the captain of me own ship for many a cycle, and I don’t
take orders from anyone – especially some wet-behind-the-ears alien kid who
happened to luck into a bloody mystery ship.  Now get in the chair, fire up the
engines, or I’ll blast ya to shreds.”

“If you kill me, you’ll never be able to pilot this ship,”
said Jack.

“And what if I just maim you, hmmmm?” asked Scallywag.  “You
don’t need both knees to fly, do ya lad?”

Jack regarded Scallywag for a moment, looking the pirate in
his eyes.  All the warnings he’d heard from Sergeant Rodham came flooding back
to him.  But in his heart, he still didn’t believe them.  This man had saved
his life many times and shown incredible bravery since pretty much the moment
they’d met.  And for the life of him, Jack refused to believe Scallywag was as
bad as everyone – maybe even the Visini himself – believed him to be.

“Need I remind you that Faruuz died on that ship?  That he
died because of the Deathlords?” said Jack.

“And what does that have ta do with anything?” asked
Scallywag.

“Were you really trying to rescue Faruuz?” Jack asked.  “Did
you really want to make amends with him?”

“What’s it matter?” replied the pirate.  “The ol’ brute is
dead.”

“It matters,” said Jack.  “Because despite everything I’ve
heard about you and your kind, Scally, I believe in my heart that you really were
there to try to help him.”

Scallywag regarded Jack for a moment before finally lowering
his pistol.  “Ya don’t know anything about me,” he said.

“Maybe,” replied Jack.  “But I think you really are trying
to be someone different.  I think you’re trying to be a better man than you
believe you are.  That’s why you tried to help Faruuz.  That’s why you tried to
help me.”

“I was just surviving,” replied Scallywag.  “It’s what I
always do.  I needed Faruuz on me side, and I needed
you
ta get off that
bloody Deathlord ship.  Simple as that, lad.”