Space is Vast

Chapter 11 - Another interruption

Adam was still staring out the window, with Vida sitting in the Co-pilots seat next to him. They were talking to each other quietly as the two men in the back nudged each other and exchanged winks. The space station holding the survivors was not that far away, only a days ride, which would have them arrive by morning.

Unfortunately, the crew of TheShepard passed by a nebulous Cloud, a large gaseous cloud made from Space Hippo excrement. In this cloud hid the notorious pirate Henri Pickle. He sighed; he had been sitting here for the past two weeks waiting for someone to turn up. He had been sitting in this pile of Space Hippo crap for too long, and was having a hard time getting the smell out of his clothes. His head was dangling, and his eyes were drooping, he was on the verge of sleep. The noxious smell of the Space Hippo had a strong kick to it, a kick which rendered normal men unconscious, but Henri, having been there for over two weeks, could be considered superior. There was a blip on his radar. His head jerked, and he mumbled. 

“Is zees for you …. No, you shoosh pud dat in zee cuboard…” he had a very thick French accent.

Another blip dotted the radar. He opened one eye. He wasn’t sure if what he had just thought he had seen was true. The blip appeared again, and then became a steady dot, moving slowly across the circular screen. He jumped in his char. Finally he had his chance, and he wasn’t going to waste a single minute. He started up the engine to his sleek ship. It looked very much like an eagle, only painted black with fire caressing the wings, which were drawn back in the standard position. The triangular cockpit sat in the front followed by the slender body and two large thrusters slowly powering up. The Small silky ship began moving forward, slowly gaining speed.

Vida was the last to retire. She had been looking over the knobs, and screens, making sure everything was fine before she bedded down for a couple hours. Assured that all systems were ok she made her way to the back of the ship where the three men were sleeping peacefully. She smiled; it was times like this she truly enjoyed. She went to fetch the sleeping bag, which Scipio had brought out hours earlier for her, and she stopped as her eyes grazed Adam. She stopped at his face, and stood for a minute staring at him. She was unaware of a slight blipping in the back of her mind. She leaned closer in

.

‘He really is pretty cute.’ She thought to herself.

Before she could advance with her thoughts a voice came over the radio.

“Ello, ‘ah am Henri Pickle, zee notorious space peerahte. Eef you would az be so kind az to surrender zee goodz, ‘ah shall be on my way!” 

Adam rocketed to a sitting position; he looked up and was startled to see Vida’s face not five inches from his own. She blushed and turned away. Adam looked at her curiously, but shook his head and recovered himself. 

“Waz goin’ on?” he asked still a little bit groggy “Who waz dat French guy?”

Vida turned around, and could still see a hint of red on her cheeks. She didn’t meet his eyes as she spoke. 

“He says he’s a space pirate. I dunno, why don’t you ask him?”

Adam struggled out of his sleeping bag and ran to the radio. He grasped it and thought for a long second before replying.

“What?”

“’Ah am ze Notorias Space peeraht Henri Pickle. Drop all zee cargo and ‘ah shall spare youah lives ” Henri waited for a reply. He could hear whispering.

“What? Did he say he’s a parrot? Sounds a little nutty to me.” Came the semi-groggy voice that first spoke.

“No you idiot, he said he’s a space Pirate.”