“Some men jump into the fire

  so we do not have to.

  Honor them.”

  -Kraxar Delgara,

  Treatise on War

  Chapter 3: The Blight

  New developments had cast aside the gloom and trepidation of the prisoners, and replaced it with curiosity. Among the curious, Maria stood with her friends, “Zenny and Penny,” as most people knew them. Pressed along the cell walls, they watched as the pirates scrambled. Eventually, the cutthroats gathered around their First Mate, whose angry demands acted as a catalyst to order.

  “Borka!”

  Borka, a plain looking man with a cybernetic leg, answered her beckons, ready to comply with her orders.

  “Ma’am.”

  “Pick three good men. We’re going to the bridge,” she ordered. Pointing to the hoard of pirates, she then barked out, “The rest of you, secure the other levels!”

  As she finished her sentence, the lights illuminating the docking bay area went out. Now, only the energy from the cells and the elevator level indicator light remained to illuminate the area. Someone had turned them off. Maria could tell as much from how this Heavy Kajar Runner operated. Following this development, the elevator began to descend. The intruder, it seemed, was on their way.

  An amethyst colored energy suddenly lit up the room. The First Mate had activated her sword, the energy surrounding the blade with a fine tuned precision. Pointing towards the elevator door, she cried:

  “Fix wrist guns on the door! It’s coming.”

  “W-what’s coming?” one of the pirates in the crowd inquired, terrified.

  Activating a circular shield and taking a defensive stance, she replied, “the Blight.”

  Although she could barely make out their faces through the darkness, she could sense that fear had gripped them because of her warning. After overcoming their shock, they activated their weapons and did as their First Mate commanded. Then, silent anticipation.

  Maria had heard of the Blight, but she could not place where. As she recalled, it was little more than superstition. Regardless, it scared her captors to their wits’ end. She too now waited in anticipation, but for a very different reason. Perhaps the swift hand of justice was coming quicker than expected.

  The elevator beeped, its flickering indicator light passing down another level.

  7...6...5…

  Seconds seemed to feel like minutes for the Dread Pirates, as they waited for what they reckoned to be their inevitable doom. A small smile appeared on her face.

  4...3...2…

  She could see the arms of some of the pirates begin to shake in fear. The anticipation was too much to handle. Whatever was behind that door was truly a blight to them.

  1

  The elevator door opened slowly. Or, so it seemed. The lights inside had been cut off, and the pirates’ flashlights could not penetrate the darkness within. With bated breath, they waited for the door to open fully, peering through the darkness to catch a glimpse of what was inside.

  Finally, it was open. At first, they could only see darkness. As some of them moved forward to illuminate the spaces in front of them, however, two glowing red lights like eyes appeared. The pirates jumped back in fear, and Maria almost did the same.

  Regaining control of herself, Marriane ordered her men to fire. Fear overriding all their other emotions, the men shot their wrist guns into the elevator. All manner of various colored lasers flashed into the elevator, but as the lasers landed on the interior, Maria could see that no one was there. After a few more shots, Marrianne ordered them to cease-fire.

  “Where did it go?” Borka asked, his voice strained, presumably from his labored breathing.

  The First Mate did not seem to have an answer. Unlike her men, she seemed to be more collected, both in her manner and directives. Maria imagined she was not as superstitious, despite the simpletons she commanded. A desperate scream from across the bay, however, did not help Maria’s own superstitions.

  Turning towards the right side of the bay, the pirates fixed their flashlights on where their missing crewmate once stood. His sudden screams were suddenly silenced off in the distance. The only evidence left of him being there was his cutlass, lying deactivated on the floor. That, and a brownish colored shoulder plate for, what Maria guessed to be, a light armor set.

  Stricken with fear, the pirates turned to the other side of the bay, where yet another scream came. Like the other man, another pirate was gone, with only his blade remaining. Desperately, the pirates looked around the bay for the phantom that hunted them. To their dismay, it could not be found.

  Determined to control the situation, the First Mate rallied her men, calling for a shield circle. Maria had seen the tactic used by infantry before in training, but never in actual practice. Forming a band of shields around their First Mate, the pirates steadfastly peered into the darkness for what prayed upon them. Maria and her fellow cell mates did as well, but no one had spotted anything.

  The tactic seemed to be effective, at least, in offering the pirates a reprieve. Standing together, the Blight could no longer pick them off. Until its location could be pinpointed, the First Mate was apparently content to play it out defensively.

  “If you can’t see it, listen for it!“ she ordered, probably wishing she had a thermal imaging visor.

  That too seemed to be a successful notion. In the shadows, light movement could eventually be heard amidst their silent fear. Upon hearing it, a pirate fired his wrist cannon into the darkness. Zooming by, a movement nearly undetectable could be seen by the laser’s light. The Blight was near.

  “There!” The pirate yelled, pointing towards the direction of his shot.

  Those on that side of the shield circle began to fire repeatedly into the area which the pirate pointed. Some of the pirates were equipped with automatic weapons, allowing them to fire roughly five rounds a second. With that amount of firepower, they surely would have hit something. Maria held her breath in hopes that they did not.

  The space was now vacant, as could be seen by the light of the lasers. Maria breathed a sigh of relief, as the pirates continued to fire wildly. The First Mate yelled out to be heard above the laser fire.

  “Stop firing! You’ll damage the ship!” she demanded. By her tone, it was clear her patience was growing thin.

  Until this moment, Maria had felt helpless. A feeling, she had once resolved, to never feel again. The trauma of tonight’s events had left her feeling like half of a whole. Without James, that is what she truly believed. Her husband died fighting. Upon witnessing his passing, she could not bring herself to do the same. Seeing events play out around her, however, she realized now was the time to act. She resolved to no longer be a cowed observer, but a player.

  Raising her fists, Maria beat them into her cell walls. The confinement field made a loud buzzing sound upon impact, but caused no pain. The harder she hit, the louder the sound. Noticing, the First Mate turned in her direction.

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  “Cut that out!” the First Mate demanded, giving her a threatening stare.

  “Maria, what are you doing?” Zenny whispered, hinting she should stop so as not to be punished. She continued on, ignoring her.

  Maria, her face stern, and puffy from the tears she had shed, continued to bang her fists into the walls. Though she could only be a thorn in her captors side at the moment, she was determined to be the most painful one she could be. Penny, looking up to her, finally caught on.

  “I get it!” she yelled, proceeding to bang her fists into the wall. Following her, Zenny then found the courage to follow in her friend's footsteps. Inspired by the women’s actions, their fellow captors joined suit, creating such noise that one could barely hear anything else.

  Now, the pirates could hear nothing. Deprived of their potential advantage, they stood frozen in fear. The First Mate looked around in desperation, trying to think of a solution to their stagnant and dire situation. An overwhelming sense of doom began to overtake Maria’s captors, as could be seen by their quivering.

  Before a pirate behind the First Mate could react, a figure emerged from the shadows. Charging him, the pirate did not stand a chance, as the wraith with the glowing red eyes launched him backwards with a spartan kick. Without skipping a beat, the Blight ran through the circle of men with unnatural speed. Had the First Mate not had the good sense to duck, she surely would have been incapacitated or worse. Two of the pirates now lay incapacitated on the floor, with the Blight nowhere to be found. Scared by the unearthly display of prowess, the pirates lost faith in their circle of shields. Some stayed together. Others ran into the darkness either to root out their foe... or to run from him.

  “Stay together!“ The First Mate ordered, anger and panic bleeding through in her tone. Her directive came too late. Already, the pirate’s fate were everything short of sealed.

  One by one, Maria’s captors were lost, defeated by this apex predator. Once the hunters, the Dread Pirates had become the prey. Twenty or so remained in the disheveled circle, held together by their collective fear.

  Continuing to pound her fists, Maria waited with hopeful anticipation to witness the final culling. It was satisfying to see these savages experience the same fear they tended to bring out in others. She hoped they were still alive, for the darkest parts of her soul cried out for their punishment to continue. Death was too good for them.

  The Blight was even bolder now. With each pass, the wraith made quick work of the pirates, dwindling their total number down to fifteen. Driven to madness by the pressure of their inevitable end, one of the pirates began to swing his blade wildly, hoping in his wild antics to hit something. Another fired his wrist gun in every direction, not caring what he hit. Their lackluster display did nothing but make them easier prey, it would seem.

  “Thirteen of us! Calm yourselves, and fight together!” the First Mate bellowed, pulling on the shoulders of her men so as to make their shield circle tighter. Soon there would be no one left to fight, and the ship would be the Blights to take. It was evident the First Mate needed a new plan. Maria could plainly see her pondering a new course of action. In her desperation, one finally presented itself to her.

  “Blight!” she roared, making herself heard over the buzzing. For a moment, Maria and her fellow prisoners paused their pounding.

  “You fight like a coward! Fight me face to face, and let’s end this!”

  Her offer was quickly met. So quickly, in fact, that it startled everyone present. Roughly 10 meters in front of the First Mate, the glowing red eyes and dark silhouette of the Blight stood, facing her. It looked like a human male, with some type of advanced armor. From her position, Maria could not see him well. His most distinctive features were his considerable height and bulk.

  Gathering her resilience, the First Mate charged forward, her sword and shield held high and tight in front of her. Letting loose a battle cry, the First Mate swung at the Blight. Unfortunately for her, her opponent was far too quick. None of her attacks, regardless of their precision or ferocity, were effective against her overwhelmingly more skilled opponent.

  The other twelve began to surround the Blight, trying to circle him in. As unintelligent as they were, the pirates understood that their First Mate’s challenge for a fair fight was a bluff. Now that the Blight had made his location known, they would block his paths of egress, and cut him down. As Maria knew all too well now, pirates never play fairly.

  The Blight seemed to have predicted the betrayal of trust, however. Or, at least, adapted well to it. No one could touch him. None could lay a hand on him. Each strike, even ones coordinated between each other, were useless. His speed, his movements, his acrobatic leaps were all seemingly impossible to achieve, even if a biosuit was aiding his movement speed. The Blight was toying with them. It was not until he began to counterattack that they all realized just how much.

  He performed movements with lightning speed. Using only his body as a weapon, he punched, kicked and elbowed his way through seven men. When some tried to flee, he made quick work of them, and then returned to the others' scope of reach. Eventually, only the First Mate remained standing. Firing her wrist gun at the Blight, she continued, hoping that at least one shot might land, but it never did. Backing up, she continued, switching from laser shot to metal shard projectiles. Still, she had her every effort stifled. The Blight sauntered towards her, dodging or blocking her shots with a forearm shield. Her eyes growing wide in terror, she continue to fire, screaming at him to stay back.

  Her last moments of consciousness proved how quickly one’s composure could crumble. When Maria had witnessed her a few hours ago, she was an unstoppable warrior. No one in her little settlement could stop her. Now, she was little more than a frightened child, facing the reaper. In a flash, the Blight rendered her unconscious. Her body fell to the floor unceremoniously, as her cutlass dropped to her side.

  The conflict, it seemed, was over. At last, the ship no longer belonged to the pirates. Sadly what should have been a moment of elation turned into one of uncertainty for Maria and her fellow prisoners. This Blight character had not made his intentions known, other than it was no friend to these slavers. What if he had devious plans of his own? Maybe they had just been handed from one master to another.

  The lights in the bay switched back on. The unconscious pirates could now clearly be seen, as could the new visitor. The prisoners fixed their gaze on the Blight, transfixed by the large figure they could now see clearly.

  Covered in black, multifaceted armor, the Blight was just as intimidating in the light as he was in the dark. His shape indicated he was a human male, as Maria supposed. Then again, he could have been an advanced droid. Perhaps even a cyborg. On its backside were two blades, their sheaths crossing on his upper back. His eyes were not red; rather, the eye slits on its helmet were. They glowed brightly, and seemed to pierce right through her.

  Standing tall and strong, the Blight was a force to be reckoned with. If it came down to it, Maria and the others would stand no chance against him. They did not even stand a chance against the pirates. Experienced warriors he had taken down single handedly.

  Walking over to one of the cells, the Blight’s approach caused many of the prisoners to retract in fear. He reached over to the cell control panel, and began to input some type of directive. Deactivating it, the cells shut down, as the shields ceased their humming. The prisoners, it seemed, were free. Maria and a few others breathed a sigh of relief. Others were a little more apprehensive.

  As they evacuated the space that was their cell, a tiny robot climbed off the back of the Blight. Apparently, it had been attached the whole time. It was a small droid, with skinny, metallic arms and legs, and a plated, diamond shaped head. It had one glowing red eye, which it used to observe the room around it. Approaching Maria and the other prisoners, it greeted them.

  “Much greeting!” It exclaimed, waving its hands. “Name Naf. Much friend. So is master,” gesturing back to the Blight. “Take you where you wish to go. Much care for you on way. Like, so safe,” Naf continued.

  The crowd of prisoners stood speechless, not sure what to make of the bazaar greeting. The quirky droid seems sincere enough. However, so were the visitors who landed on their beach a few hours ago, “seeking aid.” They quickly turned the villagers charity to their advantage. Maria winced at the thought.

  “So… pilot here? Anyone pilot?” Naf asked, turning his flattened head left and right.

  “Stop!” A voice from behind them exclaimed.

  The prisoners collectively gasped in horror as Halsey Krieger, Commodore of the Dread Pirates, stepped out of the elevator. Limping, the old pirate looked worse than usual. His eye was black and blue, and there was blood in his beard dripping down from his nose. In his hand, he held a tubular object with a glowing button at the end.

  “Release control of the ship, and step into the cells! All of you!” The old pirate roared.

  Naf looked to his master, then to the old man.

  “Master asks why he should do this,” Naf relayed.

  Confused, Krieger looked to the Blight, then down at the droid.

  “Tell your master I’ll blow us all to kingdom come if he doesn’t acquiesce to my request,“ Krieger replied, his voice sure and ominous.

  Looking from his master to the pirate, he again replied instead of the Blight.

  “Master finds this much unlikely.”

  “And why is that?” Krieger scoffed.

  “Master knows what will happen if you don’t deliver. Much bad.”

  Krieger’s expression turned from scorn to surprise. As he thought on the little droid’s words, a sudden panic glazed across his eyes. The panic, Maria recognized, one saw when facing death. Then, a peaceful realization. Maria, realizing what she must do, began to stealthily make her move.

  “Maybe… Killing the Blight will appease them,“ Krieger reasoned aloud, muttering to himself as he looked down at the detonator, tears falling down his face.

  “Goodbye, my son.”

  Before he could press his thumb down onto the button, Maria swung the blunt end of a sword into the back of the old man’s head, having snuck behind him during his discourse. Knocking him out cold, Krieger fell to the floor. The detonator fell out of the old man’s hand, and rolled to the Blight’s boot.

  As she came down from her adrenaline rush, she tried to slow her heart rate. Her breathing slowed, as her vision became less narrow. Turning her attention to the Blight, Maria answered Naf’s question.

  “I’m your pilot.”