“I believe there’s an old saying that’s made its way through all seven star systems. If you’d allow me to paraphrase it, ‘there are three definitive powers left in the galaxy. They are, in this order: the politicians, who create democracy and order, the Galaxy Enforcement, who preserve peace and authority and, finally, the space pirates, who spread chaos and anarchy.’

Okay, now, all three of these groups are always at ends with each other, right? We hear about it every day. The penny pinching bureaucrats and policing drones, regardless of their ‘communication issues,’ are forced to work together, so their hands are tied. Obviously, the pirates hate law and regulations, so they’re at odds with the system. But I think I’ve got it figured why all of ‘em really, and I mean really, don’t get along. It’s simple jealousy! They all just want more media attention than the other guy!”

--Basin Bulges, comedian, interviewed on Kal Vega’s TV show, “Good Morning, Galaxy!”

Taurus-Sigma Asteroid Belt // January 14th, 086 G.C. 

Arios and Haumea watched Enforcement Shuttle One depart. A quick flare of the rear thrusters and it was gone.

“What are they doing?” Arios stammered. “We’re sitting ducks out here!”

Haumea lurched forward, preparing a response. Before a syllable could escape his lips, blazing lights and deafening alarms blared across the cargo shuttle’s cockpit. Both men’s hearts leapt. The radar screen had gone berserk.

“We’re picking up a ship,” Arios declared. His fingers scrambled over a series of buttons. The flashing lights and alarms came to a stop.

Despite the almost unbearable close-quartered layout of the cockpit, Haumea shifted back and forth with the unrestrained panic of a caged animal. “Where did it come from?”

“I don’t know,” Arios fired back. “Quick, contact Galaxy Enforcement!”

An instant before Haumea’s hand could touch the transceiver the shuttle jolted. Both men were thrown forward, their guts slamming against the controls.

“We’ve stopped moving!” Haumea yelled. “Something’s caught us!”

For Arios it was beyond any sense of hate, moreover, it was an extreme sense of loathing, when his co-pilot stated the obvious, which was quite often. But this was no time to call him out on it. Arios propped himself back into his seat and snatched up the transceiver.

“Enforcement Shuttle One, where are you?” Arios paused for a reply. None came.

Inspecting a lower control grid, Haumea’s face turned ashen white. “Don’t bother—whatever’s out there’s jamming the radio frequency!”

The shuttle shook again, this time harder. These were the tell-tale signs of a hijacking. Arios had never been boarded before but heard the stories from other pilots. The shuttle’s inexplicable stop, the dead radio, the violent shaking—what else could it be? His worst fears had come to fruition. Death might be only a heartbeat away…

A light hum resonated within the cockpit almost sounding like a laser searing through metal. It was a prelude to the whirling screech that burst to life behind the two pilots. Arios and Haumea spun around so fast their necks ached from mild whiplash. The elevator shaft was being activated!

A large circular platform that rested a few feet behind the pilots’ seats descended below the floor, sinking out of sight and leaving a dark hole in its place. Haumea’s mouth hung open with no words able to escape. With a sense of building dread, Arios knew what was happening. The hijackers had made their way to the cargo hold’s elevator. They could be in the cockpit within seconds. Only if he could get his hands on some kind of weapon, anything that could be used in defense! Arios recalled other pilots always boasting about carrying a service blaster in the cockpit, just in case of these type of situations, but Arios was stubborn and hated firearms. Now he would give anything for one.

The sound of gears grinding and metal chafing against metal grew louder as the platform rose. A young man was lifted into the cockpit. He stood on the platform, a laser rifle in hand.

This was the hijacker? Arios thought. He was practically a kid, in his late twenties at most! He couldn’t be a—

“Good day, gentlemen,” the young man said with a smile, directing the laser rifle at Arios. His eyes darted between both pilots, making sure no heroics were about to take place.

“Who the devil are you?!” Haumea stuttered, wiping the sweat off his brow.

“Just your average, intergalactic space pirate,” the intruder beamed.

Arios and Haumea froze into place, absolute terror taking hold. Arios’ worst fear had been affirmed: space pirates—the bane of the galaxy.

“Now, let us get those hands in the air where I can see them,” the pirate ordered, giving the rifle a playful jab forward. “Keep it together and we’ll be out of here in no time. You won’t even be late for dinner, I promise.”

Arios and Haumea raised their arms, complying with the man’s wish. “You’ll never get away with this,” Haumea warned, his voice teetering between thinly fabricated courage and outright panic. “You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into!”

The pirate’s smile stretched even further across his face, followed by a short roll of his eyes. “Somehow, I doubt Alpha Four will miss a few cargo crates of Petro Diamonds.”

A shiver went up Arios’ spine. Petro Diamonds! So that was what they were transporting. Petro Diamonds were rare, even on the mining colonies, no wonder they would attract the attention of space pirates.

Ace Waywin kept his finger slightly away from the trigger, but not far enough for the two pilots to notice. He didn’t want to fire a shot by accident. So far so good, he thought. He glanced at his reflection in a blank monitor screen, chuckling to himself. He was tall and slender with boyish good looks, blazing white teeth, golden locks, and bright blue eyes. It was an innocent face, but one that concealed a wild, untamed streak, like some character from an action-packed holofilm. In fact, in Ace’s youth he had always imagined himself as being a holofilm star, but deep down he knew that it would be a boring life. This was the only life for him.

Ace counted down the seconds in his head, Nova should be finished any moment and a transmission would be heading his way right about—a muffled beep escaped his wristband. He tapped a button on it, activating the device.

Static and feedback blared out from the wristband’s miniature speaker, followed by a commanding voice. “Ace, this is Orion, we have the cargo.”

“Crystal,” Ace responded. “Be right there.” With his face lighting up in excitement, Ace took one last glance at the two pilots. He was surprised to find them both pushed further back against the control console, trembling like frightened children.

Arios could feel his vision begin to blur. The pirate before him became a haze, even Haumea, at his side, was no more than a vague impression. It was impossible! The voice from the communicator, he identified itself as Orion! Could it possibly be him? Orion…Darkstarr?! The name was never spoken aloud among shuttle pilots, and with good reason. Some refused to believe that the man even existed, for no other pirate had ever reached his level of notoriety and fame. Stories of Orion Darkstarr had spread through each of the twenty-five star systems; in spite of being at the top of Galaxy Enforcement’s most wanted list, he had, so far, been able to elude capture on every occasion. Some rumors claimed that he was most bloodthirsty pirate of all, killing, murdering, and maiming just for sheer enjoyment. Other rumors argued that while he was a master thief, he held a strict code that forbade him from ever killing. No two people could ever agree on where the myth ended and fact began. Nevertheless, all agreed on his infamous title: the pirate scourge of the galaxy.

“Was…was that…Orion…Orion…Darkstarr?” Arios finally blurted out.

“That was him, the one and only,” the pirate replied in a nonchalant tone. “Yes, my friends, you’ve had the privilege of being hijacked by the greatest living pirate in the galaxy.”

He kicked a lever near the base of the platform while letting out a jovial laugh. “Don’t tell your friends, they’ll be jealous!” The platform panel descended, lowering the pirate down the elevator shaft and out of the cockpit.