Voyages of the White Skull Book 1

by Jason Alan Jones

  Jaime knew it would take at least twenty to thirty minutes for the pills to kick in, and hoped that no one would try to save her. She wished that she could see Jesse on more time and kiss his soft lips. She didn’t want to leave him, or this existence, behind. Jaime just hoped that Jesse would forgive her for killing herself. She was beginning to love him deeply, but hoped that if he was going to die soon, that they would meet again in the afterlife. Jaime laid her head on the soft pillow. Her heart was pounding in fear that Silvana would try to save her. Several minutes later, she began to feel the painkillers take effect, as her body increasingly felt heavy. She began to regret her action, but knew that it was too late, and painfully faded away. As she died, she felt herself being ripped away from her physical body in the form of an apparition.

  Jaime deeply regretted killing herself. While looking down at her dead, lifeless body, she wished that she could she Jesse one last time. She found that she could float around, and decided to seek him out. Jaime flew straight up, and out of the ship. She could feel that her time was limited, so she quickly looked around at the beauty of space. Forcing her ghost-like body down, she entered the base, passing from one room to the next. She was disappointed by what she found. In an empty room, Jesse’s hands were tied together, as he dangled from the ceiling, like a piece of meat. The tips of his toes barely touched the cement floor. He was unconscious, with blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. Jesse’s black shirt was ripped in half, and draped around his waist. A man entered the room, wearing a red cardinal outfit, holding a whip in his hand. As she tried to move in closer, she felt, then saw, a black void open behind her, and pull her away.

  Panicking, Jaime tried to fight it, but the force of the vacuum was too strong. She cried in regret, and she clawed at the air, trying to grab a hold of Jesse. He momentarily woke, feeling a strange presence in the room with him. He could almost make out a figure in the air.

  She smiled at him. “What did I do?” Jaime asked herself, as she is sucked into the void. Jesse drifted back to sleep, realizing that he was probably just delirious.

  The man in the cardinal outfit drew back his whip, snapping it on Jesse’s naked back, bringing him out of his unconsciousness. He let out a strong groan of pain. Since the room was dark, he could barely make out who the person was that was in front of him. The young space pirate squinted, as sweat made his eyes burn.

  “Who’s there?” Jesse asked, in a weak voice.

  “Don’t you recognize me…White Skull?” the voice was familiar, but the outfit didn’t match up.

  “President Gray?” Jesse asked, in confusion.

  “Yes,” the president answered, as he whipped him again. The whip was thin and black, in the vein of the president’s soul. This time, Jesse held in his pain, so he wouldn’t give the president satisfaction. The room was hot and humid, making his back wet, and making the whipping even more painful.

  “I don’t understand. Why are you wearing that outfit?” Jesse asked.

  The president laughed, “Like everyone in existence, I have a few secrets of my own,” the president answered. Jesse wasn’t surprised to be whipped, since he knew that he would eventually have to go through some torture, if he were ever caught. Jesse and Monica used to play this kind of game, except this wasn’t as fun for him. He wondered if his girlfriend, Jaime, was all right.

  “Answer me! Why are you dressed like that? Are you a red Cardinal?” Jesse managed to strongly voice.

  “Silly pirate, yes, I am a Red Cardinal, and have always been one. But, what you don’t realize is that I am in fact…Archbishop Blackwell, head of the Red Cardinals,” the president said, with a madness about him.

  “Ah shit,” Jesse simply said to himself. That’s something he would have never guessed.

  The president continued to whip Jesse with all of his might. The young space pirate could feel the flesh of his back break with each lash of the whip. His back grew increasingly hot, as blood began to run down from the torn flesh. Jesse clenched his tied fists, trying to stay conscious.

  “You see, Kincaid, I’ve been looking forward to this before I even took office as president. Nothing could give me more pleasure than to punish you. You’ve been a very, very naughty boy. Just to let you know, I’m going to whip you until you die. I hope you don’t mind, but, do me a favor, and stay alive for a while, so that I can truly enjoy this,” the president said, as he evilly smiled.

  “You sick fuck, where’s Jaime?” Jesse asked, not concerned with his own well-being.

  “You don’t know? Why, she is a half-breed, just like your friend, Luis. They are the offspring of Mr. Toad, you haven’t met him yet, have you, and it really doesn’t matter anyway, but he is an alien from another world, who has been supplying our species with technology for a few hundred years now. Even your ship, the Black Ice, came from them,” the president explained. Jesse gave him an odd look, as if he were lying to him.

  “Realize that I have no reason to lie to you. You are going to die, so it gives me great pleasure to give you bad news. Your girlfriend is slowly changing into a bloodthirsty animal. At least she is one less human I will have to convert,” the president laughed.

  “What the hell do you mean?” Jesse asked, in anger.

  “The only reason I became president, was so that I can convert the entire universe to Catholicism. You see, when the Pope was exiled a few hundred years ago, Catholicism quickly faded away. But, now that doesn’t matter, because I am going to bring it back. Now, the one and only true religion will be Catholicism. Soon, when I feel the time is right, as president, I will begin to implement a new law of conversion. All who will not convert, must leave the known star systems, or they will be executed. Now…I am only a humble Bishop, and president, of course, but soon, I will become the next Pope, restoring our wonderful lost religion to all humanity. With the help of our flesh-eating friends, of course.” the president madly explained.

  “You’re nuts, dude,” Jesse said, as he weakly laughed, and shook his bloody head.

  “That would be accurate, Kincaid. I always knew you were a smart guy. I’ll tell you what…if you agree to work for me, I’ll let you live,” the president said, already predicting Jesse’s answer.

  “No, but I’ll tell you what, you can kiss my ass though.” Jesse said. His smile is quickly taken away, as the president angrily whips Jesse with all of his might.

  “I would have suspected as much from a space rat. Now, you will die!” the president yelled with madness, as he continued to punish Jesse. Lash after lash, Jesse felt himself becoming increasingly weak.

  “I am impressed, Kincaid, you should be dead by now,” the president said, after twenty minutes of torture.

  Many of the mistakes that Jesse had made in his past ran through his mind, like lightning. He wondered how Jaime was and even hoped Monica that was okay. He was hoping Monica would hear of this and would avenge his death. Jesse’s back stung with each lash, and he tried his best to stay conscious. He was too weak to scream out, and could only groan. The president didn’t hold back while whipping Jesse. Moments later, the president was interrupted by Mr. Toad. Enraged, Mr. Toad grabbed Jesse by the throat and lifted him up. Jesse was too weak to be afraid of his appearance, and he was barely conscious. Mr. Toad forced the empty bottle of painkillers into Jesse’s mouth, causing him to gag. It was the same bottle that Jaime used to kill herself.

  “You, your breath smells like ass.” Jesse smiled at the large creature.

  “What are you doing?” the president asked, in anger.

  Mr. Toad quickly turned to him and pointed, “If you don’t shut your mouth, I will tear it off. My daughter overdosed on a bottle of pills, which had to have come from this little insect. I have been monitoring her life ever since she was born, and she never used drugs, and I know the White Skull was addicted to pain medication.” Mr. Toad turned back to Jesse. “If you wouldn’t have unfrozen her, she would be alive now, maggot.” Mr. Toad smiled evilly. “I wanted to kill you m
yself, but I have something more magnificent in store for you…pig.”

  Jesse was too far gone to understand what Mr. Toad was saying, but he finally understood that his dear Jaime was dead. “No, you’re lying…Jaime…no!” Jesse weakly yelled, as tears began to stream down his bloodied, sweaty cheeks. His eyes burned, as he felt an overwhelming pain of sadness take him. Out of nowhere, Jesse managed to gain strength, and began to yell, “NOOOOO! NOOOOO! ’m going to fucking kill you all. You’re dead, fucking dead!” After five minutes of screaming, and trying to break free, he depleted the last of his energy.

  “No,” Jesse weakly let out, then passed out from exhaustion. Mr. Toad, with his free hand, easily tore the rope that was holding the White Skull up. He threw his limp body onto the cement floor, and dragged him out of the room by the rope.

  “Come with me…Mr. President.” Mr. Toad said, mocking the president, while dragging the almost dead space pirate to his death. Mr. Toad had plans for the White Skull, and he couldn’t wait for the pirate to find out what his fate was going to be.

  Chapter 13

  “A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.”

  Charles Darwin

  Monica’s ship, the Huntington, met up with the Black Ice in the Heffron Sector. Don and Tony agreed to hide the Black Ice beforehand at Monica’s base, and then boarded Monica’s ship to better assist her in finding the White Skull. To their disappointment, they found the Heffron Sector to be empty, and discussed together what their next plan of action would be.

  “What are we going to do now? Whoever took your boyfriend is long gone,” asked Cinnamon.

  “Any suggestions?” Monica asked the group. Rojex stepped in, and explained, “All ships leave microscopic energy particles from their thrusters. You can track the particles by adjusting your scanner to read them.”

  “How do we do that?” Tony asked, with intrigue. Tony loved knowledge of everything and how it worked. Rojex fascinated him. It took Don a lot longer to warm up to the rather large robot, that was wearing a long, black trench coat, and had a pair of pistols strapped to his metallic hips, like a cowboy.

  “I will do it for you,” Rojex said, in a deep computerized voice.

  “All right, please proceed,” Monica said, directing him to her scanner. She wondered if she should even allow the robot to tinker with her ships systems. Rojex immediately began to make the appropriate adjustments as Monica and Tony looked on. After he was finished, Rojex showed Natalie what to look for. She nervously watched the large robot, and was impressed that they were immediately able to track the particles of Mr. Toad’s ship.

  “All right, let’s get started,” Monica said.

  After two hours of painstakingly boring tracking, Natalie was picking something else up on the scanner, “Ma’am,” Natalie said.

  “Yes, Natalie?” asked Monica.

  “I’m detecting a ship about one hundred kilometers behind us…and gaining,”

  “Can you identify the ship?”

  “Not yet, in another ten minutes they should be in range for me to make identification,” Monica began to pace back and forth. There was a hovering wave of tension throughout the entire ship, for no one was anxious to run into an alien species who feasted on human flesh. Monica only had two thoughts on her mind, one that was her man, and secondly, she wondered how she was going to save him. Several minutes later, a long silence was interrupted by Natalie’s sweet voice, “It’s the Rose,”

  “Contact Luis, and tell him we’ll slow down so he can catch up,” Monica ordered.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Natalie said. After several failed attempts, Natalie turned around with a troubled look on her face. “He’s not responding, ma’am…and the Rose has increased its speed. I’m only detecting one life sign aboard,”

  “It can’t be Luis. He never travels without his men. Someone must have stolen his ship, or something is seriously wrong,” Monica stroked her chin, trying to figure out what was going on.

  “Maybe he’s coming to warn us of something?” Don asked.

  “Or, he might have information on Jesse,” Don continued.

  “Swing the Huntington around, I want to find out what the hell is going on,” Monica ordered Janet, her busty redheaded pilot.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Janet responded.

  “Charge the weapons and prepare to fire, just in case they’re not feeling friendly,” Monica said in her Australian accent.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Natalie called out.

  Heather walked up to Monica, placed her hand on her shoulder, and asked, “What do you think happened to Luis?”

  “I don’t know, but I think we’ll find out very soon,” Monica said.

  The Rose was now in visual range, and wasn’t slowing down. “Try to contact the Rose again. I don’t want to fire on her, if I don’t have to,” Monica said, while she continued to pace the deck of her ship. Natalie attempted to contact the Rose again, but without luck. The Rose was headed straight for the Huntington, forcing them to play a game of chicken.

  “If they think I’m going to blink, they have another thing coming. All ahead full!” Monica yelled.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Janet said. Heather and Cinnamon looked at each with worry, since they knew what she was capable of. Monica was not known for her rationality, and often charged in with her guns and anger blazing. She had won many battles, but a third of her battles were won simply by the other ship finding out it was her, and then fleeing for their lives.

  The two ship were still a few miles apart, but heading toward each other at an alarming speed. “How long before we collide?” Monica asked her pilot.

  “Five minutes,” Janet nervously responded, as she pulled her long red hair back into a pony tail. All of Monica’s crew loved her, but, at the same time, they felt it could be a little stressful working for her. They never knew what she was going to do next.

  Rojex stepped in to talk to Monica, “I have already scanned the ship you call the Rose. I have a short range scanner installed in my central processing unit, and I have found that if you shoot at the ship’s primary stardrive on the port side of its hull, it will disable it.” Monica was dumbfounded by his ability, but she was also a little disappointed. She had some pent-up aggression stored up, and wanted to release it through battling another foe.

  “Can you show Natalie where to shoot?” Monica asked, in a disappointed tone. She slumped in her command chair.

  “Yes.” Rojex again walked over to Natalie, and entered some information into the Huntington’s database. To Monica’s surprise, the Rose rapidly fired a hail of gunfire, ripping into the Huntington’s port engine, causing it to slightly smoke.

  “Only minimal damage!” Natalie called out.

  “Natalie, fire for God’s sake!” Monica yelled as she slapped her hands on the arms of her flight chair. Natalie fired at the exact spot Rojex had instructed her to. A thick bolt of white energy shot out from one of the Huntington’s massive guns, puncturing a hole in the side of the Rose’s hull. The force was so strong that it caused the Rose to slightly roll to its starboard side. Chunks of hull debris drifted into space. The Rose’s engines unexpectedly burst into flames, causing the ship to slow down, and drift lifelessly into space.

  “Is that supposed to happen?” Monica asked Rojex.

  “No,” Rojex said, to everyone’s surprise. Rojex let out a mechanical chuckle, as if he had enjoyed the explosion. Unknown to them, Rojex had a secret addiction of destruction.

  “Did you plan that?” Monica asked, in confusion.

  “No…I must have miss-calibrated something. Their stardrive is more powerful than I anticipated. Whoever is in that ship will be fine for another ten minutes,” Rojex stated.

  “All right, dock with the Rose. We don’t have a lot of time, so let’s make this fast!” Monica ordered Janet.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Janet replied.

  Within five minutes, the Huntington’s docking ring was firmly attached to the Ros
e. “Are the pressure seals in place?” Monica asked.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Cynthia Battle replied, another of Monica’s beautiful women.

  “Monica, you should stay here with your crew. Don and I will go in,” Tony said.

  “I will retrieve the human for you,” said Rojex. Monica wasn’t sure if he was offering to go in, or just telling her what he was going to do. Nevertheless, Don and Tony were a little relieved.

  “All right, but bring the person back alive,” Monica ordered. Instead of answering her, Rojex simply grinned.

  As soon as Rojex entered the Rose, Tony approached Monica, and asked, “Did you see that?”

  “What?” Monica asked. Don and the Haven sisters leaned in.

  “There is a large black button, just under the collar of his trench coat, in the back of his neck. It could be a shut off switch,” Tony informed her.

  “I don’t think it would be that easy to shut him off,” Monica said.

  “We’ll, he did say that he was originally just a servant…and not very intelligent. He did admit he was altered, but the switch was probably from when he was first built,” Don concluded.

  “You may be right. It’s good to know just in case he goes ape shit on us,” stated Monica.