Hello! Welcome to the first serialized story for Pulsar the Ex-Pirate Parrot! Well, I guess he’s not an ex-pirate at this point, have I already spoiled things?? Over the next 4 weeks we will go on an adventure with an infamous space pirate crew and their right hand/wing bird named Pulsar! When he discovers the cargo of their latest target isn’t what he thought, Pulsar must decide where his loyalties truly lie and the true difference between right and wrong! I hope you’re ready! Let’s go!
And now…
The Re-education of Pulsar
By Tyler Tarlton
PART I
“Target’s shieldbot production down to 3 ps. Will be unprotected in 90 seconds.”
“Excellent,” Captain Brice nodded as he turned his attention to the view screen. Laser bolts continued to streak toward the cargo vessel in the distance. Small explosions appeared as each bolt connected with one of the vessel’s shieldbots. “Slow our rate of fire, we don’t want the ship destroyed. When their bot production stops, fire the grapplers.”
“Aye Captain.”
The captain leaned back in his chair and watched the fleeing cargo vessel. It had a strange shape, like a half pyramid connected to a large rectangle. Its movements were choppy; the captain knew the ship employed evasive maneuvers but it almost looked like it was being buffeted about by winds. A strange look in the airlessness of space. They had been pursuing the vessel from Synchronous 67 and had finally caught them on the approach to Mul Zibanu. The heightened tensions between the two systems, they did not currently have an official trade relationship, told Brice that the cargo on board the vessel must be of great value. His contacts within the Pirate Guild had confirmed it.
He watched as the ship dove away from his pursuit then hooked hard to the left. Captain Brice frowned; the laser bolts started missing off the aft bow. His gunner was aiming those shots. He sprung to his feet and marched to the weapons station. Fear filled the gunner’s eyes as he saw the captain approach.
“Move,” Brice commanded. The gunner stepped aside and watched as Brice tapped a few controls. He grabbed the gunner by his lapels. “Now’s not the time to practice your shooting. Use the targeting solutions from our sensorbot network. Like this.”
He pushed the gunner away and pointed to the viewscreen. The laser bolts stopped only to resume a moment later, now hitting those shield shieldbots around the vessel’s central section. The number of small explosions increased. The ship’s flight path became even more erratic in response.
“Shieldbot production down to 1 ps,” the sensor operator relayed from her station. “They’ll be gone in less than 45 seconds.”
After a final glare of disapproval at the gunner, Brice strolled to the tactical console.
“Have you obtained the schematics for that ship yet?” he asked the cybernetic bird that perched over the controls.
“Yes. Shield bots from Trappist are not proficient at sensor disruption,” Pulsar answered, his talons stuck in the input ports. Through those he could access all the ship’s systems including their sensorbot network.
Though of the parrot order, Pulsar was technically a Hyacinth Macaw, the largest such bird on Earth. He was born there and sported bright blue feathers with a yellow-rimmed black beak and with yellow around his eyes. He had been upgraded extensively over the years with a variety of top of the line cybernetic improvements from Fornax 1. These included an enhanced right eye for infrared/x-ray viewing; steel talons that acted as computer interface connectors; a jet pack and oxygen supply for short space flights; an auditory implant for human-like speech beyond repetitive English; and access to high speed radio communications. He could access almost any Quantum Field Communication Network as well. He had been everything from a scout to a weapons officer for the pirate crew. He was the captain’s right hand bird.
“But there’s something off about that ship’s design,” Pulsar stated. From the moment they dropped from the vacuum he knew the ship they were pursuing was not an ordinary cargo vessel. The external design was vaguely familiar, something Pulsar couldn’t quite put his talons on. His initial scans revealed an interior just as unusual. “I need more time for analysis before we board.”
“We-“
“Bot shielding is gone!!”
The shout drew Brice’s attention back to the screen. A final laser bolt streaked across the viewing area. This time it was not intercepted, but instead slammed into the rectangular part of the ship’s hull. Sparks and flames erupted for a moment before being extinguished in the vacuum of space. Brice shot a look of death at the gunner.
“Cease fire for cripes sake!” he growled before returning to his chair. He shook his head in disgust as he sat and typed out several commands. “Fire the damn grapplers! I want the first boarding party on that ship in 3 minutes!”
The bridge exploded into a beehive of activity. Members of the crew raced back and forth as they reacted to the captain’s commands. Pulsar watched with a frown and leaned back over the tactical console. He needed more time; with this ship’s unusual design he didn’t want the crew walking into some sort of death trap. But the captain was a very impatient man, especially once a target was ready to be boarded. If Pulsar could just-
A shudder rattled the bridge as the pirate ship’s grapplers latched onto the cargo vessel. Pulsar looked at the viewscreen as the target’s hull grew closer and closer. A shout of excitement echoed from the crew, this served as everyone’s favorite part of the job. They raced for the airlock, conveniently located to the side of the bridge. This was the only pirate ship of which Pulsar had heard where everyone got to participate in a boarding action. The captain never left anyone on the Singularity. Granted, the crew numbered only 10 but Pulsar didn’t consider it a good idea nonetheless. Brice never listened to critiques concerning his tactics however so Pulsar never bothered to voice them. He just flew along with the flow, making sure to watch the captain’s back. He owed him that much anyway.
“This is it boys!” Brice shouted with glee. He hopped to his feet and jogged for the exit. “Come Pulsar, the raid is on!”
Brice and the other pirates disappeared through the airlock door. Pulsar took a final look at the schematics then sighed. Watching the captain’s back was tiring. But the job was his and he wasn’t going to shirk it now, no matter his reservations. He detached from the console and flew after the others. He passed through the short airlock passage and entered the cargo ship’s loading bay. He was immediately greeted by a concussive sound wave blasting through the door on the opposite wall that led to the rest of the cargo ship. Pulsar banked to his right and landed with a skid next Brice and half of the other pirates, situated on one side of the door. The rest aimed their concussion rifles on the other side. They all took turns firing into the cargo ship’s corridor beyond.
Pulsar hopped past the pirates and peeked through the door. In the middle of the wide corridor sat several crates, stacked in a hurried and haphazard manner. He watched as 5 different heads popped up to fire their concussion rifles before dropping back out of sight. Pulsar activated his targeting reticle and tried to capture an image of each being. He wouldn’t be able to positively identify any of them, no time to run a search through the galactic QFCN or to hack into Mul Zibanu’s network, but he could at least get an idea with whom they were dealing. After a few seconds he was able to identify a human, two Tau Cetians, a Phonican, and an alien of unknown origin. Quite the eclectic group for a cargo ship from the Synchronous 67 System. They continued to exchange fire with the pirates but appeared to be slowly retreating to another large door, this one set in the wall behind them. Though Pulsar hadn’t had much time with the ship’s schematics he knew that door led to the bridge.
“There’s a passage to the ship’s bridge beyond that door,” Pulsar reported to Brice as he pointed with one wing. He then spun to face the other door in the loading bay. “And that one leads to the cargo hold.”
The captain nodded then fired another shot at the cargo ship’s crew. The sound wave connected with a crate on top of the stack, knocking it off to the side. This forced the defenders to duck down deeper. Brice smirked and turned back to Pulsar.
“Good work,” he said as he pointed his chin at the door to the cargo hold. “Get in there and see what we got.”
“There’s something about this ship though Captain,” Pulsar said as he hesitated. “This isn’t a regular cargo vessel. We need to be-“
“Captain! They’re falling back!”
Brice hopped to his feet. He looked down at Pulsar.
“Get going Pulsar, find our reward. And don’t forget to check for any hidden compartments.”
“That would be much easier with a longer look at the ship’s-“
“Just go!” Brice shouted, ending any further discussion. He then gave an order to charge. He led the pirates into the corridor after the cargo vessel’s crew.
Pulsar let out a long breath and shook his head. The captain could be such a difficult man sometimes. There was no way this cargo ship could’ve outrun the Singularity, they had plenty of time to better review the schematics and prepare for this attack. The need for such a rush made no sense. And why had he specifically mentioned looking for hidden compartments? Pulsar looked for those on every boarding action. He felt very uncomfortable, something that had never happened to him on any of the pirates’ previous missions. He ruffled his feathers and shook the feelings away. The bird had to get going, just like the captain said.
After a couple hops Pulsar flapped his way into the air. He flew for the door to the hold. As expected it swung open as he drew close. A short corridor followed after which Pulsar reached yet another doorway. It too opened and he landed inside the large cargo hold. He examined the interior and saw only a few crates, stacked apart from each other across the entirety of the space. Pulsar hadn’t gotten a full sensor readout on the ship’s contents but he certainly expected more cargo than this. And with the captain’s impatience in attacking this vessel one would think it carried all the gold of Fulnar IV.
The bird stifled a groan as he flew to the closest crate. He adjusted his ocular implant to x-ray mode then released that specific wavelength from his vest. The inside of the crate materialized in his vision a moment later, showing what appeared to be a few rolls of fabric. Pulsar frowned and moved to the next crate over. More fabric. He continued through the rest of the crates only to find that none of them contained anything he would call valuable.
After checking the final crate Pulsar landed back by the door and leaned against the wall. He had heard nothing further from Brice so he assumed the pirates were still engaged with the ship’s crew. He checked his chronograph to realize that only a few minutes had passed since he’d left the captain. A side effect of having such a small amount of cargo to check. A bit of joy filled his insides, Pulsar now had some time to better review the schematics. In fact, he could get a more detailed set by re-scanning the ship from the inside.
Pulsar accessed his personal nanobot controls and released a half dozen from the back of his vest. He switched his ocular implant to UV detection and watched as the small blinking lights spread through the cargo hold. A frown hit his face seconds later when each one sputtered and crashed to the deck. He hopped over to the nearest one and switched to microscopic vision. He leaned close. That nanobot was completely dead with no electrical activity whatsoever.
“What the heck?” Pulsar exclaimed out loud. He hadn’t run any diagnostics on his current supply in a several weeks but such measures usually weren’t necessary for nanobots from Fornax 1. They rarely suffered from any sort of glitches. But with what he was currently seeing Pulsar made a note to check every last one of them after this mission was over.
The bird was about to activate his magnetic retractor to retrieve the bots when the ship around him suddenly shook, hard enough to send Pulsar into the nearest crate. He steadied himself and realized that the ship was drifting. With his auditory range expanded Pulsar picked up the roar of an engine, one moving AWAY from his position. He cocked his head in confusion as he flew to the closest viewport. His eyes widened.
The front, pyramidal section of the ship had somehow separated from the rectangular, the part in which Pulsar now sat. He could just see the separated pyramid over the rectangle’s wing and past the still docked Singularity. It flew away at an angle hard to starboard. His beak dropped in that moment; this was a Farzin exploration ship.
That type of ship had been out of service for decades even before the wormhole network was discovered that connected the Milky Way to the Whirlpool Galaxy. Stories concerning the ship’s capabilities began to spread as soon as the two far flung sectors of space began their interactions with each other. Their exploration ships became the stuff of legend, at least in those circles that obsessed over spaceships and their design, Pulsar being firmly in that number. The ship looked to be an ordinary vessel but could separate into three independent sections at a moment’s notice. The front pyramid became a nimble fighter, the middle/rear rectangle became a bomber with a circular section that emerged from the bottom to serve as a sort of command module. Analysts believed the Farzins used the ordinary look to lull those beings they were visiting into a sense of complacency. The sections could be separated quickly to attack if needed. Pulsar never thought he’d see one, it being out of service long before he was born, but here he was on board a Farzin exploration ship. In the rectangle anyway, watching his Captain get taken away in the pyramid.
“That’s what this thing was!” Pulsar shouted. He accessed his internal comm system, connected to the Singularity’s Quantum Field Communication Network, and attempted to contact the captain. “Captain Brice this is Pulsar, come in.”
No answer. He tried several more times, on every frequency, but received nothing in response but static. The system appeared to be jammed. He found he couldn’t connect to the Singularity at all. Nor could he connect wirelessly to the Farzin ship. He tried for several more minutes to no avail. Annoyed, he finally gave up the attempts and took the air once more. He flew toward the door opposite the one in which he had entered.
“There has to be a secondary bridge for this section,” he said to himself. “Maybe there I can fix the comms and get these pieces back together.”
The door opened and Pulsar flew into the corridor beyond. As soon as the door shut behind him a voice echoed overhead.
“It won’t work.”
Startled, Pulsar dropped to the deck. He tried to locate the source of the voice but could not spot any cutouts or alcoves where someone could hiding.
“Hello?”
“You can’t override our systems pirate,” the voice said.
Pulsar froze. The voice sounded vaguely familiar but he couldn’t pinpoint why. And how did it know what he was doing?
“Don’t even try. But you can leave. I can lead you directly to the nearest airlock...”
~~
Whoa! Not often you stumble across a legendary Farzin ship! But its crew took off on the disconnected section, who’s left on board?? And will Pulsar survive the encounter? Find out next week in The Re-Education of Pulsar – Part II!