The Adventures of James Star

In a smoke-filled bar sits James Star, just relaxing from a hard day of work. James is a merchant who is doing quite well for himself, but has had a feeling for sometime that something is going to happen to the planet he inhabits. To assuage his suspicions he has secretly been building an escape pod spaceship, so when that day comes he will be ready. 

He looks outside the bar, sees people running, and then hears an alarm go off. He walks outside asking, "What is going on?", and is told that the planet is going to explode. He starts running back to his home to get ready to leave in his escape pod. 

Bursting into his house, he sees two of his friends that are going with him - Web Warner and Dino Cage. All three get into the pod and prepare for takeoff, when they feel the ground shaking like a thousand volcanoes going off at once. They take off as the ground starts coming apart all around them

As they become airborne, they see the ground where the escape pod had once been cave in. They watch as the house they just exited collapses on itself. When they are out of the gravity field of the planet, they watch as the whole planet crumbles, disintegrates, and explodes, leaving an empty void in space where the planet had once stood. 

Web asks James where they are headed. James replies, "Wherever we drift to - because at this point I do not know." 

James notices they are slowing down. He realizes that the fuel cell has lost power, but the life-support systems are still functioning properly. Dino says, "James, there is a big ship coming our way and it looks as if it is getting ready to suck us inside." 

James, Dino, and Web watch as the huge ship gets directly above them. The next thing they know they are inside a cargo hold that looks as if they had been captured. They can hear banging on the hatch of the escape pod, then watch as it is forced open and three overly muscular, scarred-faced, battle-hardened guys come in and grab them without a fight. 

They are put in front of a burly man that looks as if age has taken its toll, who appears to be the leader of this pirate-like cruiser. The man looks at them and says, "My name is Captain Black Shred." He eyes them stonily. "You three are on my pirate space-cruiser...and also my new prisoners." he adds. "Take them down to the prison below deck." 

They are taken down some stairs where a strong smell of disease, mold, and death enters each of their nostrils. They also notice other prisoners - some who appear to be dead and have been decaying for months, others who look like they are rotting away and about to die, with the rest of the captives seeming to be in good condition. They hear the rusty old cell door slam behind them and the pirates depart, leaving some men behind as guards. 

Web peers at his companions through the murk and says, "Great, James. Now we're captured and stuck in a rotting cesspool of death and decay. What are we going to do now?" 

James just looks at him and replies, "Only time will tell, my friend." James stands in front of the decrepit cell door and tries to think of a way to escape, when he feels a slight quake that makes the cell door buckle. He looks at Web remarking, "That felt like something just ran into the cruiser. I wonder what it could have been." James hears the guards on their com-links being told they need to come up to the upper decks, because the cruiser is under attack by a Pigman Empire Fleetship. 

James watches as they leave and feels yet another quake, but this time even harder. James watches the rusty hinges of the cell door crack and the weight crushes it completely, making it fall off and hit the ground. James says, "Lets go!" So he, Web, Dino, and the surviving prisoners stream out of the prison, starting up the stairs to the upper decks, shedding the feel of the cell's disease, death, and decay like a heavy cloak.